


Karin:Embers of Life (A Saigon Tale)

by SimplyDonnie



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Dramatic like everything else in my life, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lots of fluff guys, M/M, X-men themes, eventual pwp, maleficient themes, themes from all different kinds of supernatural and mythical stories/movies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2018-10-23 06:49:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 95,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10714377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyDonnie/pseuds/SimplyDonnie
Summary: Picture it, Karin living in a modern day world trying to master her ninjutsu and hone new powers all while trying to learn dance and make good coffee.A Naruto fic with inspirations from movies like X-Men and Maleficent with a really hard twist. Also features some of the wonderful crew from InuYasha.Terrible summary, it probably sounds comical, but it's not.Y'all, it's lit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First, I will probably be renaming this. 
> 
> This story is very dramatic. It is not a comedy, but I will try my best to lighten the mood with as much comic relief as possible. 
> 
> I am NOT giving up on 'Karin, Interrupted' I simple have to start posting the pre-written chapters to this story before my brain implodes on itself. It's something I've been dancing around with in my head for literal years and I've never written or posted it because I was always worried about negative feedback, because trust me, this shit is wild and all over the place, but I've decided I no longer care. I just want to share what to me is my mental master piece. If you don't like it, fine. If you do, I love you. I have about 4 1/2 chapters ready to go so far and because of the person I am, I'm not sure when I'll finish chapter 5 but I will try to finish it soon and also update 'Karin, Interrupted.' 
> 
> Lastly, I myself do not speak Japanese, but I asked a friend who studied it for some help with translations. I'm not all that sure how accurate she was so in an effort not to offend anyone I kept the Japanese subtext extremely short.

Chapter O.n.e: After The Storm  
\- - -  
Dark hazel eyes watched a grey scale monitor, fingers drumming on the desk in front. The silence on the screen was drowned out by ominous thoughts of death destruction. A mind plagued by screams and wails of agony was running rampant with anger. Stroking a free hand across the rough stubble and turning slightly in the chair. He had to stop watching. He couldn't stand it. It was all too tempting to just get up and go.

But it was his job. He was being paid to do this tonight. To sit here in this room for nine long hours and watch. Just watch. He turned back to the monitor. The constant buzzing from the device was going to drive him insane faster than the screams would. He wouldn't be stuck here if it weren't for her. He wouldn't be hearing these screams if it weren't for her. _‘Why isn't she dead?’_ was all he had been able to think for three and a half months now.

Why was she being allowed to live? To breathe? Why were they protecting her? _‘Cowards.’_ He thought. ‘ _They’re all cowards. Our supposed to be protectors are cowards._ ’ He leaned forward in his chair and turned the monitor off. ‘ _Our people need a real hero. They need me.’_ He nodded briskly to himself. ‘ _I’ll fix it.’_ He stood in his chair and adjusted his equipment belt around his waist. He took a few deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. He moved towards the door and opened it. The empty hallway was warm and brightly lit. Clean and clear of any dust and debris. He started off towards the right. He knew where exactly to go. Right, left, another left. Last room at the end of the hall on the right.

The keys jingled softly as he inserted the key into the door. He heard the click as it unlocked and the soft creak of the door hinges as the large door opened. He slipped inside quickly and pressed his back against the door reshutting it. The temperature in the room was different. It was cold in here. Cold enough to require a light jacket. It probably doesn't bother the unconscious figure on the bed though. He felt his heart race with anger again as he finally laid eyes on her. He moved closer for a better look. Her bruises and all injuries had all healed finely and now they were all just waiting for her to awake. But he didn't want that. He wanted her to stop breathing. He wanted her heart to stop beating and for the blood in her veins to stop flowing.

His eyes roamed over her face more. Taking in the bright red mass of hair on her head and how dark it looked in the room. Her soft pale looking skin that was once riddled with cuts. His hazel orbs landed on her throat. His fingers flexed and slowly rose to her delicate looking skin. And then he latched on with a determination to never let go. His veins visible in his arms and his body shaking with rage, he just wanted it to be over. He wasn't expecting her eyes to pop open. It made sense for her brains survival instincts to kick in. He guessed he just hoped they wouldn't. Her hands moved slowly to his wrists. She was still weak and there was no real effort to stop him. Her ruby eyes just stared at him all glistening with tears and confusion. Her cheeks started turning the same color as her hair and her eyes and her hands squeezed his wrists a little. Then she let go. Her hands fell and her eyes fluttered shut. He let go a mere two seconds later and he released a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. She lay there, motionless, lifeless.

“I did it.” He breathed. Now he had to get out. The same way he came in, he crept over to the door and turned the handle. He looked back at her once. Still there. He tugged it open and froze instantly in his tracks. He wasn't sure what stopped him first. Hearing the ragged coughing from behind him, or coming face to chin with the very man who had once ruled over him.

The man didn't know what to say. He barely had time to think before the woman in the room began screaming in her native language. Amber eyes gently glided over in her direction before landing back on him.

“Lord Kato.” He whispered meekly.

"She used to be really shitty at playing dead.” The fear striking man muttered. He opened his mouth to make a plea for forgiveness, but was cut short by a thin, sharp blade coming across every fresh vein his own throat had to offer. In his last seconds he heard the flow of blood spilling on the marble floor beneath him, staining his uniform and coating his hands. The tall, silvery haired man merely stepped around his mess and moved inside the room to quiet the woman and then he dropped to his knees and collapsed on the floor. As his eyes flickered shut for the last time he couldn't help but to think, maybe he should've listened to his girlfriend when she warned him. She’d always been right anyways.

o.O.o

_‘Dark. It's so dark. Why is it so dark? And hot. It's burning. I feel like I'm on…fire.’_

Karin had the sensation of floating. Floating above a pool of fire while being simultaneously crushed by a heavy invisible force. It weighed down on her body and made her limbs impossibly heavy. Her eyelids felt like they'd been glued shut. Her body was racked with pain. Her sides burned and her ribs ached. What was all this pain? Had she been attacked? Yes, she had been attacked. In the forest. With Sasuke and the rest of Taka. Were they here too? And where exactly was here? She tried to call out to one of her three teammates, but her lips didn't move and her throat was so dry. What in the hell had happened to her? Slowly, but surely she began lifting her lids. Screwing them back shut at such bright, insulting lights and then slowly lifting them again. Squinting in the brightness and absorbing as much of the surrounding that she could see. A ceiling. She could see a ceiling. If she moved her eyes left, she could see some a wall and if she moved her eyes right she could see a man. A man with shoulder length silver hair and deep amber eyes. She shut her eyes again.

She thought maybe she heard her name faintly, but she wasn't sure. The loudest thing she could hear was a constant, steady pounding in her ears. It was loud and almost as offending as the lights. She opened her eyes again and looked towards the wall. Smooth and dark, stone. It looked cool to the touch and she was in deep need of something cool. She wanted to run her fingers against it, but she couldn't move still.

“Karin.” She had definitely heard her name. He was calling out to her. She looked toward her left. He repeated her name. His accent was thick and heavy, lacing his words through and through. He wasn't speaking Japanese however and she failed to understand what it was he was trying to say to her. She blinked cluelessly at him. She assumed he understood then because his language changed and he was speaking to her in her native tongue. His dialect was much older than hers so some of it was lost in translation, but she got the gist of it.

"Anataha ima watakushi wo ri kai dekiruka?” ‘You understand me now?’ She nodded. He continued. Slowly, speaking in short sentences so as to get straight to the point. His name was Igarashi Kato. She had been in a coma for almost 4 months. She was apparently in quite a bit of trouble and was currently in prison. Solitary confinement to be exact. Then he stopped speaking to her and just stared. She was confused again and he knew it. He excused himself and left her there.

‘Huāng teru kanarazu you haarimasen.’ Don’t panic. She told herself. Her limbs were tingling all now and she was able to flex her fingers and toes. She shut her eyes for the third time that day and tried to remember what happened to her; but she wasn’t able to remember anything past being attacked. She thought she had died. It felt like she had died. She remembered seeing Suigetsu laying still on the ground being consumed by some thick, dark matter that seemed relentless in destroying them. Her stomach sank to her knees. Was Suigetsu dead? And Juugo and Sasuke? She couldn’t sense them, she couldn't feel anyone, not even the man that had left her here and it scared her. Despite having told herself to panic, she was starting to.

“Sasuke!” She cried out. She didn't know what to expect, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted to hear him call back to her to be quiet and stay calm. “Sasuke!” She cried again. There was no muffled commands through the walls and there were no surprise voices coming through the door. “Suigetsu!?!” Again, there was nothing. No snickers and vulgar insults thrown her way for being scared. “Juugo?” She cried quietly. Not even Juugo’s soothing, nonchalant voice to tell her not to worry. She was alone. She was completely alone here.

o.O.o

Sasuke’s heavy eyelids fluttered open and took in the sight around him. Suigetsu lay sprawled out on the ground to his left and Juugo was leaning up against a tree seemingly still passed out. He sat up slowly and brought his right hand up to his head. The dull ache was growing bigger and bigger as the seconds passed and it was just as annoying as it was confusing. The raven haired man looked around, one person was missing. The vibrant haired, loud-mouthed kunoichi he traveled with. She was nowhere to be seen and his immediate thought was that she had already woken up and probably gone off to sit by herself. He scrapped that thought instantly. He had still been unconscious which meant that Karin, had she been there, would've still been by his side. His next instinct was to see if he could sense her, and when he couldn't he hauled himself to his feet and decided to begin a search for her.

He didn't go too far from the other two, he figured that maybe he would need their help eventually if he couldn't find her on his own but waiting for them to wake up was almost agonizing. If Sasuke Uchiha was a man who showed emotions on a regular basis, he would have jumped for joy when Juugo finally stirred. Suigetsu awoke soon after with just as much exhaustion as the other two had and he immediately realized Karin was missing when he didn't receive a snarky comment about being lazy or whatever.

"So, in short,” Juugo sighed, “we have no idea where Karin went?”

“That cranky ass, she probably bailed on us when she got tired of waiting.” Suigetsu snorted.

“No.” Sasuke said decidedly. “She didn't ‘bail’ on us. Something happened. We were attacked. All four of us.”

“Ambushed? I don't remember gettin’ ambushed.” The violet eyed man said.

“I remember being struck by something…forceful. I didn't see any enemy shinobi though.” Juugo said.

"Right.” Sasuke said narrowing his eyes. Karin hadn't told him of anyone approaching them. The last he remembered before this mystery attack, was leaving Konoha due to an episode Karin had had. She kept claiming that she could see..a woman. An evil woman. They had cut a week long trip in Konoha four days short because of her, not that Sasuke was complaining. They had barely gotten halfway done with their journey to Sound when Sasuke found himself hurled into a tree at full force. He remembered trying to move and feeling restrained. Like a crushing weight had fallen on his body and it was stripping him of the very air in his lungs. He remembered hearing Karin scream. It was the most blood curling thing he’d ever heard, the most unfamiliar sound being ripped from her throat. It wasn't long, it was short. Piercing. And then as soon as it was over everything went dark. Hours, he's assuming, later Sasuke woke up.

"So you think she was taken by that woman she kept screamin’ about?” Suigetsu asked after Sasuke recounted his memories. Sasuke nodded. “But that doesn't make sense. We didn't see any woman.”

“Maybe we missed something then. Maybe she was hiding herself with some jutsu and only Karin could sense her because of her abilities.” Juugo offered.

“Whatever it was, she has Karin. I'm sure of it. We need to find and recover her before she gets hurt.” What he didn't say was that he believed she’d already been hurt. ‘That scream…’

“Sasuke Uchiha..caring? About someone other than the blonde and his brother? Interesting.” Suigetsu said with a toothy smirk.

“Karin is still a member of Taka and she's been loyal to me. The least I can do is help her when she's in need.” That was all he cared to say on that matter. Their search began briefly after that. They split up. Sasuke went south. Juugo east and Suigetsu west. They agreed to meet up in the hideout in Sound which was in the north. This way they’d cover more ground. When they all met up at Sound a week later with nothing Sasuke began to get frustrated. Orochimaru and Kabuto claimed that she hadn't set foot in Sound since they left and Sasuke couldn't think of any other places that she could have been. If this jutsu was really skilled enough to hide them from their vision and senses then Sasuke and the rest of Taka alone wasn't going to be enough to find her. He needed a sensor with a skill set that was almost as good as Karin. That was how he, Suigetsu, and Juugo found themselves back in Konoha days later recruiting the help of one Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and of course, Naruto Uzumaki.He hadn't necessarily wanted their help, but he needed it. He also needed Kakashi to pull the stick out of his ass and understand what he was trying to tell him.

“For the last time,” the frustrated Uchiha said, “we were attacked by an unseen shinobi with massive amounts of chakra. Massive enough to leave the three of us comatose for hours and to kidnap Karin without leaving even a trace of her existence behind. We need their help and I won't say it or ask again.”

“Hm. I see.” Kakashi said, but Sasuke knew better. He didn't see. The jaded man saw nothing with his obscured vision. He didn't see Sasuke’s pain and agony when he was trying to help drag him back to the village, he didn't see Sasuke’s pain and agony when he tried coercing him into a meaningless relationship with Sakura, he definitely didn't see it when he threw him in prison and he didn't Sasuke’s anger and annoyance now.

"Sasuke, I understand that Karin is… a close friend of yours, and as much as I would like to help, right now I just can't afford to send off any of our jounin on what could turn out to be a goose chase. What if this ‘thing’ this ‘woman’ attacks the village? It's only been a year since the war ended and things are finally starting to pick back up here from Pein’s attack. We just can't afford to lose any protection.”

“She won't attack.” Sasuke said firmly. “If Karin was right, if she was here before and she left it standing then I'm sure your precious village will be fine.”

"Kakashi-sensei, I think Sasuke is right. We should be out there looking for Karin! For my cousin! And if we do find this lady, wouldn't you rather us defeat her outside of the village? Where she can't destroy anything!!?” Naruto exclaimed after having sat impatiently quiet in the background. He’d heard enough so far to see that Sasuke was getting more and more upset and Kakashi was becoming less and less interested.

“Guys,” Yamato sighed, “Karin isn't a citizen of the leaf, she doesn't hold any confidential information on her about our village that could put us in danger and it would be crazy for us to send out some of our best to fight an unknown enemy. What if none of you return?”

“So that’s it?” Sasuke frowned. “You’re more worried about this shit village than another humans life? Someone who need I remind you, did her fair share of work in the war even though she wasn't obligated to?”

“Sasuke has a point sensei. It's not like we’re all leaving. It's just four of us, you’ve still got Sakura-chan, and Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and hey even Lee and Ten-Ten! Plus all those other jounin that no one ever seems to see anymore. That's more than enough to protect the village for a few days..or weeks.”

“Weeks?” Kakashi murmured.

“Two weeks at most.” The Uchiha stated. Kakashi heaved a deep sigh. He hated his new position as Hokage. He hadn't wanted it the first time and he didn't want it now. It was too much work, too much stress. Too many tough decisions to make. If he weren't in charge of protecting the village then he personally wouldn't have cared if Naruto and Sasuke ran off to find the missing woman. Maybe he would've advised against using the others help, but Naruto sure. He understood their bond.

“You have two weeks. No more.”

o.O.o

Kato left Karin’s room somewhat frustrated. He hadn't had to speak in his native tongue in almost 250 years and doing it now was annoying. His language was ancient compared to hers and some of the dialect was lost in translation, he was sure of it. It probably sounded more like broken sentences to her and that wasn't sufficient enough for what he was trying to tell her.

He guided himself to the control room where a dark haired woman sat, scribbling in some paperwork and occasionally glancing at a set of monitors. He thought to himself, doing a mental scan of all his dark haired female employees. He wanted to remember who she was before he engaged in a conversation with her. What if she was one of the annoying ones?

She quickly smiled and greeted him when she noticed his appearance in the room. He nodded back to her and took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

“I see Phoenix is up.” She said quietly. Kato held back a groan. He remembered her now. Her name was Lauren Fuller. She was a shape shifter who spent 95 percent of her time gossiping about the prisoners and her fellow patrol officers. Her voice had a nasally pitch and it was something he truly thought he could overlook when he realized her powers potential in the prison system. Even though she was good at her job, he really did hate speaking to her.

“Her name is Karin, not Phoenix…and yes, she’s awake.” He drawled.

“Sorry my liege, I was going over her files earlier today; hope you don't mind. Anyways, she’s got herself a pretty long criminal past. All the way from petty theft to murder. Well, now mass murder I guess.”

“Lauren. I didn't come here for a casual chat with you. I came here to think.” He sighed massaging his temples.

“Oh, I'm sorry my liege. Would you like me to leave?”

“Thank you.” He said. Lauren smiled and stood to leave. He had forgotten how short and stocky she was. “Oh,” he remembered, “and stop me calling me ‘Liege’. Kato is just fine.”

“Yes L- I mean, Kato.” The door clicked shut behind her and Kato felt a wave of fresh air hit him. He was alone, finally. Even if it was just for a few minutes, it was far more than he had been these past few months. So many press conferences, interviews, meetings, and he wasn't even fucking King anymore. It was exhausting and highly agitating to say the least. Everyone wanted to know his plan of action against the terrorist, then they wanted to know if his plan of action was a joke, then they wanted to know if he even still loved his people. He rubbed at his eyes with long agile fingers and scooted his chair closer to the desk.

Lauren had been filling out the internal investigation paperwork on Riddick Russel. The man he’d killed four days prior for trying to murder Karin. Right, he was supposed to thinking of a way to verbally communicate with her better. He supposed he could about it civilly, teach her English and hope she was a quick learner. Or, he could use some of his mothers old magical tactics. The kiss of knowledge. The power to bestow or take away someone's knowledge of a language with one simple kiss. He’d used it only once on German woman when he was in desperate need of quick answers. Later on the woman was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. He’d simply prayed for forgiveness and moved on about his business as usual. By that time, death had been second nature to him anyways.

Kato shuffled through the small stack of papers and files on the desk until he found the folder he was searching for. Karin’s file. Lauren hadn’t lied, the woman did possess quite a large record. From the age of 12 she had become a petty thief. Stealing bread and fish. Several breaking and enterings. By 14 she’d graduated to aiding and abetting in multiple kidnappings and by 16 she had become a murderer with dozens of assault crimes in between. There were also lots of blanks in her file. Missing links between her and a man named Orochimaru. There was also an unexplained arrest that she obviously escaped from. He would have to wait for an explanation on those pieces of her life. His intelligence team hadn't been able to pull much more from her memories as they were exhausted and in need of medical attention themselves.

He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up and closed his eyes. That was a while ago and things were progressing, slowly, but surely. The people were still angry, but with every press conference they healed a little more. Prosperity was coming back to the land, Karin was locked away and for sure not getting out, and he was finally getting a moment of peace and solitude to himself. He could fill her in later, she’d been unknowingly confused for months now, a few more hours wasn't going to kill her.

o.O.o

The next two weeks of Sasuke’s life had been some of the most stressful and crazy since everything with Naruto and Itachi had been settled. He and his rescue team scoured what felt like every inch of the world for Karin and found nothing. It was nerve wracking. It was eerily unsettling. Suigetsu was really beginning to think she was dead, but Sasuke was thinking much worse. What was worse than death though?

They’d started their search in small known criminal villages. Kiba and Akamaru’s noses failed to pick up any scent of Karin. Shino’s bugs traveled much faster than they did and search through dozens of villages before they had searched many themselves and always came back empty handed. Hinata scanned the surrounding areas with her eyes and never, not once did she detect Karin’s chakra network anywhere nearby.

Sasuke was going mad. Normally his calm exterior was enough to cover it, but he was slowly losing it. His brash questioning and rough handling of the bandits they had been intruding on recently was proof of that. Naruto tried to understand his friends pain, but it seemed uncharacteristic of Sasuke to act like this over someone he didn't have a bond with; which made him question just how deep his bond with Karin ran.

He told himself to just leave it be and not ask stupid and unimportant questions at a time like this, but after having to pull Sasuke off yet another retired bandit of whom Sasuke accused of knowing something, anything, Naruto decided it was definitely something they needed to talk about.

He approached his friend calmly, while Sasuke was on watch for the night. The soft cracking of the fire was the only noise in the air, aside from their breathing. It was tense and uncomfortable and the blonde didn't like it.

“Sasuke,” he started. He knew he had to choose his words carefully, he didn't want to say anything to start a fight between them.

He stared at the other man’s back, waiting for some sign that it was safe for him to move on. Sasuke’s shoulders had slacked a bit and he accepted that as his permission to engage.

“I know it sounds crazy, but, are you okay? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you're really stressed out, but I just-you've been going a little…overboard lately.” The raven’s shoulders went right back up and Naruto inwardly groaned.

“Overboard hm?” Sasuke muttered.

“Ya know, just with the unjust beating of bandits and occasionally a villager or two?”

“They were suspects Naruto.” He declared without turning around.

“Suspects?” Naruto repeated with a tone of confusion. “Sasuke..those people had absolutely no idea what you were talking about, they didn't even know Karin. I’ll admit, the one guy said some pretty rude things about her, but that didn't mean that he had something to do with whatever is going on.” Sasuke’s shoulders relaxed again and he sighed heavily.

“I know that Naruto.” He said. He sounded tired and drained. The blonde haired male took the opening to sit closer to his friend. He got a good glimpse of Sasuke’s face, his eyes. He was checking to see if he still had life in them or if they’d gone back to the dull, cold black eyes that Naruto stared into angrily and broken-heartedly for far too long.

“Sasuke, do you have any..ulterior reasons for wanting to find Karin so bad?” Sasuke looked up and narrowed his eyes at Naruto. A thin, black eyebrow rose.

“I won't deny that I care about her. She’s my friend, and a loyal teammate.”

“Yeah I know, you’ve said that so many times now that I’m starting to think you're half record player. I meant though..do you and Karin..” Naruto sighed frustrated. “Are you in love with her? I've never seen you so desperate over someone other than Itachi…and maybe me, but you were trying to kill me and that's different.”

Sasuke stared at his best friend letting everything sink in. Honestly he was sick of being questioned over his apparent need to find and save Karin.

“Why?” He asked feeling his blood turn a little hot. “Why do I have to be in love with her to want to know that she's alright?” Why did she have to be apart of Konoha for them to care about her safety? Why couldn't they just care because she was a human. She was in need. “She’s risked her ass for me without question more times than I count now and never asked for anything in return. Why the fuck can't I just want this, because she doesn't deserve to just have everyone give up on her?”

“Sasuke calm down man, it was just a question.”

“It was stupid question idiot.” It was so unlike him. “You, who spent 75 percent of your shinobi career so far saving people who probably didn't deserve or want to be saved, is questioning why I'm choosing to help someone who does deserve it.” He was growling now. “She's your cousin, remember Naruto? You should be working your ass off to help me find her.”

“I am working my ass off Sasuke! We all are! But we’re tired!” Naruto exclaimed extending a hand towards his sleeping comrades. “You’ve been running around like dogs and you haven't once said ‘thanks guys’ or ‘good job team’ to show your appreciation to a bunch of people that didn't have to help you at all!”

“Thank you? Good job, team?” Sasuke hissed with his sharingan spinning. “What the hell am I thanking them for? Being useless!? They haven't found anything Naruto! I’m not gonna thank them for doing something I could have done myself with my own skills!”

“Why are you being so unappreciative!? Would it kill you once in your life to be kind to someone!!”

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

Naruto felt his blood turn hot. He had known Sasuke for years and he’d always known him to be stubborn and an ass, but it was supposed to be different now. He was supposed to be changing, he was supposed to be working on ‘becoming a better him.’ After their fight, he was supposed to have changed and given all the hate and anger, yet here it was. Rearing its ugly head. By now the rest of the team was stirring. Heads poking out of their sleeping bags. It didn't matter to Naruto now though. He could handle Sasuke being a dick to him but he wouldn't allow him to treat his friends, these people who volunteered to help out of the kindness of their hearts, in such a way. It wasn't fair.

He stood from his spot next to the taller male and with his fists balled at his sides he stared his best friend down. “I know who I'm talking to,” he growled, “an arrogant bastard who doesn't deserve half of what he’s got. You’re so ungrateful, so unappreciative, I don't even know why I try with you anymore Sasuke!”

"Then stop trying!" Sasuke snapped back. “I didn't invite you here to bitch and complain Naruto! If that's all you intend to do then you can take your friends and leave, I don't need you. Thinking I did was a mistake on my part.” Now Sasuke was standing and walking away leaving a stunned and hurt Naruto behind.

He barely felt Hinata’s hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe him. He didn't need soothing, his hurt turned to agitation and he pulled away from the girl.

“Kiba, Shino, Hinata, we’re leaving. We’re headed back to Konoha, Sasuke said it himself. He doesn't need us.”

o.O.o

The next time Karin’s door opened it was Kato again, finally returning after what felt like a year long absence. He sat in a chair he brought with him and Karin, finally having her mobility back, rolled over on her side to face him. She took in his sharp features . His face was diamond shaped with a strong jawline and a button nose. His lips were pale pink and the bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top lip. His steely deep set amber eyes held a harsh look to them. Kato’s hair was a soft grey and it touched his shoulders, neatly trimmed at the ends, smoothed back and half tied in a singular braid.

He was dressed plainly, black short sleeves tee and dark black pants. His arms with toned with muscles covered by taut silky looking skin that bore ink on them. His eyes were folded neatly in his lap and she observed how delicate they looked. Long and deft with sharp clean almond shaped nails. He was a vision of simplistic elegance. She was awestruck with his beauty and how he displayed it with so little effort. She could’ve admitted that he was indeed the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

Somewhere in between her awe and admiration Kato told her not to panic. He stood from his chair and approached her slowly, swiftly. And now they were face to face, their lips mere inches apart. Her own red eyes widened a bit and she tried to silence her heavy breathing. Kato leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. She would've been more offended if he was some ugly vandal, but he wasn't. And his kiss was sweet like sugar. It didn't last very long; no more than about five seconds before he pulled away.

He sat back in his chair, looking very calm and very relaxed. Karin brought a hand to her lips; letting her fingertips graze over them.

“Karin,” he said, “can you speak? Do you understand me?” She did. His speech was clear as day. It was the strangest thing. All of this was strange.

“My name is Kato Igarashi. I’ve been visiting you here frequently after your..initial entrance to my country.” He paused to make sure she was still paying attention and absorbing what he was saying. When he felt like he had her full attention he continued. “You’ve been in a coma for nearly four months.”

“Coma?” She repeated quickly.

“Yes. A coma. You fell unconscious after a major battle with a woman I'm well acquainted with. After allowing you to heal a bit in one of hospitals, we transferred you here. Here, being a prison for those we consider to be of high criminal status.”

“I’m in trouble? For what?”

“What's the last thing you remember?” He asked, ignored her question. Karin’s eyes darted around the room. “I was attacked.” She said. She remembered her teammates again.

“I was attacked, on my way back to Sound, with my friends.” She continued. “And now I'm waking up here.”

“And that's the last thing? Do you remember what happened a few nights ago? Being assaulted by a man who used to work here?” The redheaded woman didn't answer immediately, she stared at the blanket on her bed and then shook her head.

“What did he do?” She asked peeking over at Kato.

“Compared to what he could have done..it was nothing drastic. Strangulation. Hence the shallow bruising on your throat. It's healing quite nicely though. Must be a specialty of yours.”

Karin pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She hated being in the dark and confused and she’d never been more so of both then right now. Kato wasn't explaining himself fast enough and he wasn't giving her the answers she immediately wanted. It was killing her to feel so clueless.

“Where are my boys?” She questioned. Kato raised a fine eyebrow at this and inhaled sharply. He was probably thinking of the best way to inform her that her friends were all dead.

“Just sit still and let me try and explain this to you as easily as I can. It's going to be hard to grasp and even harder to believe considering you're being locked up in solitary confinement, but at least try.”

“You arrived to Saigon from another world. A world we’re currently calling ‘the Shinobi World.’ When you came, you were under the possession of an ancient evil spirit that has plagued our world for centuries. After causing mass hysteria, hundreds of thousands of deaths, and lots of irreparable damage, my initial reaction was simply to kill you and be done with it.

I hope you understand that it was nothing personal. It was just the safety of my people above all else. However, Valkyrie, the woman who possessed you, apparently didn't have enough control to devour your soul entirely. You reached out to some of my fellow comrades who made a plea to find another way to stop the war you were causing. They used a risky and forbidden spell to embody the spirit of another vessel to Valkyrie in the body of a fallen citizen. The two of you met and after acquiring a new gift in her afterlife, she was able to free you by ripping the demonic spirit of Valkyrie out of your body and as I said before rendered you unconscious.” He paused again. “Are you still following?”

Karin scoffed in the midst of her bafflement. “I couldn't be more lost if I gauged out my eyes and went for a run in a maze.”

“Right, anyways, while we all…sympathized with you, it was obvious that you couldn't go completely unpunished. The kingdom was asking for your head. I chose a much lighter sentence instead.”

“And that is?” She asked fighting the urge to cry tears of anger and despair.

“2 years in prison. One year in solitary confinement and another year in a regular, maximum security prison. During your first year in confinement you will be made to undergo what we call, transcendence. It’s a transmutation process in which you leave the mortal life you currently live and take on a new ‘form’ as an immortal being. In other words, a vampire.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't believe her ears. She, personally, had done nothing wrong yet these people wanted to punish her. They wanted to turn into something non human. Something vile and evil. They wanted to turn her into the monster they portrayed her to be…

“After you’ve been released from prison, you’ll be able to live here in Saigon. You won't be entirely free to do whatever you please, but I promise to make it as freeing as possible. Your main requirement for living here however will be to join an elite team of fighters that my father has composed to protect the sanctity of our country and to have the back of our allies when our assistance is needed. This team is called the The Royal Militia. We won't send you on any missions untrained and set you up for failure, but that's also the purpose of having you go through transcendence. It makes you more resistant to death and pain obviously. Either way, you’ll still receive the proper training.”

Vampires. Other worlds. Immortality. Chaos. War. They were all things that Karin didn't want to be apart of. When did this happen to her? When had she become vulnerable to possession? When had she become possessed? Is that why she couldn't remember any of these awful things he claimed she did. Maybe he was lying, maybe this was some sick tactical move to turn her into some kind of brain dead submissive war slave.

“And if I refuse?” She asked through gritted teeth. Kato watched her. His eyes saw how her thin hands clenched the thick navy blue blankets. He saw how her shoulders shook and how her thick messy mass of red hair covered her face that was coated with a few salty tears.

“I understand this is a lot to swallow; and though it may not seem like it, I am truly sorry, and I wish the best for you here. Albeit your record says otherwise, I believe you aren't a bad person. I want you to be able to move past this and make the most of the life you're about to receive..but if you refuse to cooperate, I’d rather sooner kill you, than force you to live a life you don't want. The choice is yours, I’ll give you a few days to process and think it over.” The man spoke as he stood again. “When you’ve made your decision, just call for me.” And then with the blink of an eye he was gone.

Karin sank into her sheets and finally released a breath of air she didn't know she had been holding. None of this was making sense to her and she hated being placed in the position she was in. In her eyes, in her mind, she had done nothing wrong. He didn't bother to show any proof, and she had no memory of it. The only thing she knew for certain right now was that she wished she hadn't woke up.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I forgot to mention. These vampires go harder than the ones in 'Twilight'...obviously. 
> 
> Also, as you'll discover within the story, the world of Saigon is incredibly medically, scientifically, and magically advanced. 
> 
> As the story advances, I'll also be introducing more and more characters because there's a shit ton of people to get through and even though the main character is Karin, I don't want it to revolve solely around her allll the time. 
> 
> It's a hard concept to understand, but eventually it'll all just click. 
> 
> I'll include name prononciations in the end notes.

Chapter T. w. o: A Sort of Kind of Fresh Start

o.O.o

It took Karin an entire week to come up with an answer for Kato. And when she called for him and he appeared so flawlessly before her, he informed her of process. There were two methods, you could simply be bitten and hope that whoever it is biting you has enough self restraint to stop. Or, you could play it safe and undergo a venom injection straight into your veins. They would be taking the safe route. Kato didn't want to bite her, he insisted he had plenty of restraint, but he simply didn't like the idea of sinking his teeth into a prisoner.

When he came to collect on a whatever day it was, she was guessing a Thursday, he told her she would be escorted into the medical center. He didn't cuff her, he didn't hold her elbow and drag her. He let her walk on her own accord. He trusted her and Karin couldn't help but feeling like he shouldn't have. Still, even after being given such a golden opportunity she didn't run. She guessed he was much faster and also much stronger than her, and after choosing to live, she didn't want to risk dying.

The medical center was comprised of several rooms, all the doors to them closed. Men and women walked around freely, some in doctors coats and other clothing. She assumed it was normal dress for this country. Some of it was even slightly appealing. If she owned a business in the future she could see herself wearing some of these outfits to an important meeting.

The room Kato took her to had glossy white walls and a large bed in the center with the standard medical treatment machines around it. A heart monitor, an IV pack, and one foreign looking contraption overhead. Kato noticed Karin analyzing the device and told her not to worry about. She would later learn what it was and what it did. She wasn't entirely sure however that she wanted to know what it was and what it did.

She was instructed to lay on the bed by a woman who was accompanying them in the room. The woman looked as if she could have been pretty bad she smiled, but she didn't. Her lips remained in a hard set, firm line of defiance and her eyes danced over Karin as if she was trying to pick out every flaw possible. She laid down and Kato and the woman, she found out her name was Angelica, began prepping.

Before coming here, Kato had had her change from her normal black and grey prison suit, which more like scrubs to her, and into an all black sleeveless body suit that was made of polyester and nylon. She was insanely warm in the suit and the ceiling light that beat down on her wasn’t making it much cooler. She tried to take her mind off the heat by watching them strap her down to the railings on the bed. Both ankles, both wrists, across her waist, and then a final band across her forehead. ‘Great,’ she thought, ‘now I'm hot and uncomfortable.’

Kato handed over a vile of some clear liquid with a subtle green tint to it and Angelica poked the tube with a needle and pulled the liquid into a syringe.

“How long does this take?” Karin asked. Kato looked at her and then back at Angelica. The bastard was so bad at making conversation.

“It depends on you. Or how well your body reacts to the venom to be exact. If you sleep for more than 5 days however, you’re presumed to be permanently dead and we bury you.” Karin swears Angelica smirked. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. Angelica had a round shaped face with brown almond eyes. Her hair was the same color as her eyes and tied back in a tight ponytail. Karin could tell from the few stray strands that her hair was thin and probably shed easily. She decided to take comfort in the fact that in a few years, Angelica would be a bald ferret and she would still have a head full of beautiful thick hair.

Angelica ran her warm fingers across Karin’s inner elbow, making her veins appear. With all the other puncture wounds, Karin couldn't imagine it would be too hard to find out where to stick the needle. To be fair, it may be a little harder to do with the various scars overlaying other scars. When Angelica did find a usable vein, she pricked the needle into Karin’s skin and slowly began injecting her.

Karin felt for the first time like she’d never left Shinobi. She felt like she was right back in Sound with Orochimaru and Kabuto being a lab rat and a guinea pig again. She thought the heat that ran through her was her anger at the thought but it didn't take too long to realize that it wasn't. It was indeed the very venom scorching her veins and spreading throughout her body. Her teeth barred themselves to keep from crying out.

“It's going to hurt like hell for a few moments, but don't worry.” Kato said. “It’ll all be over soon.” Soon wasn't coming soon enough. It was racing through her legs and back up to her chest now. She felt her wiggle and fight against her restraints to no avail. Kato was speaking to her again, probably words that he thought were comforting but Karin couldn't hear him over her own shrill screaming. The pain was unbearable and she imagined this had to be worse than hell. The straps were probably going to leave burn marks and bruises from all the fight she was putting up but it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. The burning had run up to her throat now and it was taking over her head. She was 100 percent sure that this was all just some cruel joke. She wasn't going to live after this. She was going to die and if it got the pain to stop then she welcomed it with open arms. It was like the burning she felt before she’d awoken from her coma, but she was so much more aware of it now. She was too aware of it now.

Karin let out one more violent scream before she started to let the darkness overtake her. And as soon as it hit it came with a wave of cool that washed over her body like a snow storm. She wished she had more time to enjoy it before she fell into an even darker abyss and then felt nothing.

o.O.o

Schaeunna Nez could easily be described as a fire cracker. She was a head strong woman who didn't take shit from anyone. Not her tribe leader, not her husband, not her sisters, and definitely not her elder brother Josh. She had been raised on a private territory, reserved solely for the living rights of lycans. The territory had been given to her species long before she was born in an attempt to end a grueling war between the lycans and the bats. The war had lasted for nearly 80 years, filled with bloodshed and broken limbs on either side.

Both parties were quite contempt with continuing the war, however, when the head bat (Kato Igarashi) finally took notice of what the battle was doing to his beloved land he proposed a cease fire and compromise. Schaeunna had heard tales of the meeting between the late and great chief and the nightcrawler.

Her leader had invited him onto their safe ground and sat, like a dignified man, across from the earths scum and made his demands. He took no more than necessary and accepted no less than what was deserved and rightfully owed to his people. All the lycans wanted was a place to call their home and respect in the country. For gods sake, the wolves had more respect than them at the time and those wannabe fur balls were plain disgusting.

In the meeting, they had gained nearly 10,000 acres of land that was boarded off from the rest of the country, which they were fine with. They asked for a home and respect, not friendship. Besides to their chief, having open boarders could give the illusion that they were open to inter mingling their species which was strictly prohibited in their pack. They named their land Lycia.

They lived on this land in peace and happiness for decades. Building their families and expanding their tribe across the land. They had troubles every now and again, but because they were strong people they always made it over. When the great late chief had finally passed on, they hurt, but they made it over. When they had the grand scandal involving a highly respected pack member, they were scorned but they got over it.

The woman's name was Lisan. She was the kind of woman who made other women and little girls like Schaeunna had been, exuberantly proud to be lycan. She was always willing to put the tribe first, until she wasn't. When word got around that Lisan had mated with a bat, she became the most disgusting thing in their world. She was outcast from their land and was now a story told to little children about what happened when you went against the tribe. Schaeunna was six when all that happened and now she was a ripe 27. She was the woman little girls idolized, she was the woman who made people proud to be lycan, and she was one of the ones who helped the tribe make it through when tough times hit. But when Karin hit Schaeunna couldn't even pull herself out of turmoil. When that cold hearted bitch hit, she hit Lycia first. And hard. In the wake of the destruction, Schaeunna discovered that she was going to become a widow and she would no longer have a child to care for. Her father and mother had vanished into the flames and her precious home burned to the ground.

Devastation rocked her world and the aftermath was smothering her. In the following months of the attack, the Lycan body count shrunk while the rest of Saigon began repairing itself and its numbers. Some of the other species were able to regain their lost loved ones due to the special gift of resurgence. That wasn't the case for the Lycans. Their late great chief had made it law that the revival of dead family members was forbidden because it was mocking to their ancestors who died as warriors. So no matter how much Schaeunna begged and pleaded to be allowed back the life of her son, her requests were denied and she was shunned.

When news arose about the lead bat’s plans to incarcerate and later free the demonic fire throwing bitch, came to the ears of the pack, Schaeunna was irate. Her life was over, her family was broken, and her home was gone. Yet Karin lived. It wasn't fair. And as if to top of the nonsense, her people were irritatingly docile in the matter. The elder chief requested his people to try to remain as calm as could be and focus their emotions more on getting their land back to its once lush and beautiful state.

The late great chief would have surged another war with Igarashi and made him pay for all the suffering he’d caused. But every time she remembered something good about the past chief, she remembered that he was also the sole thing that stood in between she and her son. And she hated him. She hated her people and for the first time in her life, she hated being lycan.

o.O.o

31 days, 4 weeks, a whole month, and over 600 hours with no progress. Sasuke had already moved past feeling hopeless, he had moved along to resolve. Suigetsu and Juugo were exhausted, their bodies ached and they couldn't keep traveling the way had been. Barely any sleep, running dangerously low on food and patience and eventually it had to stop.

Though he didn't want to, Sasuke had eventually called off the search and declared to his teammates that Karin was dead. It sounded a lot more painful hearing it out loud and he’ll never be able to erase the mixed reactions from his mind. Juugo cried silently to himself whenever he could the first night and it didn't surprise Sasuke much because despite his psychotic killer nature, he was the softest. It was more so Suigetsu’s violent outburst against a tree and then his teary tirade that struck a cord and resonated with Sasuke.

Taka was his family, they were his home and in the blink of an eye, without any understanding as to how and why, they were broken. Their nights were full of dreadful silence because Suigetsu had no one to argue with anymore. Juugo no longer had someone to teach him about his psyche and help him find ways away from Sasuke to cope with his killing urges and Sasuke no longer had to worry about the small woman crawling into his sleeping bag at night. He also no longer had someone by his side to support him when he was down and question him when he needed to be straightened out. There was no one who randomly felt nice enough to cook for them and watch after their well being when they were all too careless to do so themselves.

There was no one to sit with him during watches and listen to him talk about his past and his ideals. No one that he could vent to about Naruto and the rest of Konoha. No one who he could just look at now and connect with anymore. There was no more Karin, period. And it hurt.

So, Sasuke did what he usually did when he was hurt, he distanced himself from that particular pain in hopes of letting it subside. He pulled himself from Taka and he continued his worldly travels by himself taking solace in other small civilian villages where he didn't have to worry about Shinobi issues. He focused on Sasuke and finding his center like he had first meant to do and he focused on forgetting. He tried adamantly to erase Karin from his memories. Every memory of her that he ever had was like a slap to the face and it just made him angry. The memory of their first meet during the exams. Smack. The second meet in the ruins of Kusa alongside Orochimaru. Smack. After they separated and met a few years later in the western prisons. Smack. When she selflessly agreed to help him on his revenge journey. Smack. Everything.

What he needed was the perfect distraction, and it came midway into his second month in the clutches of a bird from Konoha. It was a letter from Naruto written with all his sloppy gracelessness. He was inviting Sasuke to come ‘home’ so they could talk. He apparently wanted to work things out. Sasuke was inclined to decline because Karin would be center of this conversation too and it was the last thing he needed, but well he couldn't stay mad at his best friend forever. Instead of declining, he responded that he needed a little more time to cool off and think things through and then he would come see him. He sent the bird on his way and looked back at the bowl of rice in front of him. He had barely touched it. It was hard and tasteless, it did absolutely nothing for him. He didn't want to seem rude and ungrateful to the kind woman who had gone through the trouble to make it for him though so he swallowed each grain down with dignity, thanked her for his meal and asked for solitude.

There was at least one thing he could rely on to take his mind off things. That was training. Training was a much loved hobby of his. It was also something he tried to do more often than not now a days considering he was a walking target with one arm. He took to a quiet spot in the woods with plenty of trees to practice on and set to training. He would train until his knuckles bled, his lungs ached from breathing fire, his body was drenched in sweat, and his legs caved from chakra exhaust. He didn't care, just whatever it took to get the damned redhead off his mind. Whatever it took.

o.O.o

She isn't sure when, but eventually Karin became aware of the things around her. The things that were once shrouded in darkness became illuminated by a small flicker of a flame. Not much to see save for the one lone figure that sat a distance away from Karin. Another person, inside of her subconscious. Their long golden blonde hair hung softly down their back and touched the bottomless ground beneath them. Karin couldn't sense their chakra. She hadn't been able to sense anything since she arrived here and it bothered her. The last thing she needed to do was walk into dangerous territory. She was so curious about this stranger in her mind though, so she swallowed whatever fear she had and trudged forward. She moved much slower here, like molasses. Her footsteps were soundless and she guessed the stranger had no idea she was approaching.

When she stopped, mere inches away from the person she didn't know what to say. Everything that had been happening lately seemed so strange and out of the ordinary that going about this in a normal matter didn't seem right. Normally, she would've pointed an accusatory finger and asked just who the hell they thought they were and why they were invading her space, but since this wasn't normal, she chose to just simply ask them how things were going and how long they’d been stuck here. It had only just occurred to her, but maybe this wasn't her subconscious at all. Maybe she was stuck in some parallel dimension while she waited her process out.

The stranger was a woman. She had ghostlike beauty and gentle blue eyes. A light smile ghosted across her face before being replaced with her previous solemn look.

“You don't know me?” Her voice was barely a whisper but it still echoed throughout the darkness. “You should know me.”

“Uh, sorry?” Karin muttered. She gave the woman another look. Nope. Not familiar. “Maybe you think we’ve met before, but we haven't. So who are you?”

“We’ve met. You know me. You know me.” She nodded. Her voice was a little stronger this time, a little more determined. Karin picked up on her accent. It was similar to Kato’s only softer.

“Look lady, I'm sorry if you're confused or whatever, but I'm telling you, I don't know you. Would you just stop being stubborn and tell me your name?”

The woman sniffled and buried her face in her hands. Great. Now she was crying. Karin rolled her eyes. She hardly wanted to be here at all and she certainly didn't want to be stuck here with some crying dead woman.

“Maybe,” she sniffled placing her hands back in her lap, “if I was covered in blood with jagged teeth and yellow eyes, you would remember me better.”

“What?” Karin breathed. They were practically just words but they were eerie and they made Karin shiver. It wasn't until the woman looked directly at her that Karin fell down on her backside and her red eyes widened and filled with tears instantly.

“No.” She choked. She remembered her. She remembered that woman. She looked nowhere near as hideous and gruesome as she had when Karin saw her, stalking her throughout Konoha, but she was positive that it was her. But if that woman was here, what did this mean about Kato’s story? Was it all just a lie like she’d thought?

“I-I thought you, he told me you were dead.” She said breathlessly.

"Silly child. I am dead, can't you see that? That woman, she stole my demon half, for which I'm grateful. It was nauseating being under the control of that beast.” Karin threw herself on her back and clasped her hands on the sides of her head. She couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't handle being this fucking confused all the time. It was giving her massive headaches.

"So you're Valkyrie? You’re the woman who’s been terrorizing these people for centuries? You’re the reason I'm in this mess?!”

"Pity. Don't blame me. I'm merely a lost spirit who was overcome by a demon manifested by my own pain and hatred.” Valkyrie sighed.

“So…it is your fault?” Karin frowned. “If you’d controlled your anger it wouldn't have manifest?”

“I could say the same for you. The Phoenix likes to rise in the fire of broken minded people. People who have been dealt cards of hardship and depression in their life. People, who like me, were to weak to fight their own demons and succumbed to the persuasion of another.”

“I am not weak!” Karin quickly declared. “I’m fine with my life, everything was just fine before you decided to bust up in it!”

“Was it fine? I was there, I saw all those nights you cried in your room. All alone, no one to hold you.” The ancient woman taunted.

“Shut up.” Karin seethed.

“You were just a child when your life unraveled. And it's been falling apart ever since.”

“Stop.”

“You pretend like everything is alright for the sake of others and for the sake of your dignity.”

“I’m warning you.” The younger woman threatened.

“You take so much pride in appearing as the strong, unbothered woman that you-

“Stop!” Karin swung her right fist at the woman with enough force to liquefy her if she were Suigetsu, but instead Valkyrie caught Karin’s fist in the palm of her hand and pushed her away as if it were nothing.

“If the Phoenix was still a problem, she’d have gotten you again. Right then and there.”

“You stupid bitch. I'm not angry because I'm broken. I'm pissed because you’re insulting me!” She responded.

"Oh dear, I did not mean to insult you, I was merely trying to get you to see the truth. The pattern. Your pain isn't your fault the same way my pain isn't my fault.”

“Fine.” Karin sighed. “Then what happened to you? Who’s fault is it?”

“Sit down girl. This is a long story. You’d better get comfortable.”

o.O.o

In 1819, Valkyrie was a flourishing 16 year old woman with her entire life ahead of her. She lived in Scotland in a small town where peace and tranquility was law. The people there were all kind to each other, they exchanged greetings and acknowledgement to one another and it worked. There was rarely ever trouble in the town and when it did arise it was quickly snuffed out.

Valkyrie’s father, Harold, was the mayor of the town and he was a man who took pride in seeing his people live hassle free in a place that they built themselves. He was strict on law breakers and he was very strict with his daughter. It wasn't much of a problem however because Valkyrie was obedient. She was a good girl who did as her father instructed when her father instructed without ever uttering a complaint.

Valkyrie was also incredibly beautiful. At age 16, she was one of the most desired bachelorettes in the town and her father always had a handful of offers to cypher through. He turned many men away, but there was one he decided was fit enough to be his daughters husband and future father of her child.

The mans name was Lucas Scott. A prominent landowner in the town with lots of respect to his name. His family held ancient ties to the King of Scotland and despite how ancient they have been, they were still a very important detail of his history. Harold promised his daughters hand to Lucas on her 17th birthday. Valkyrie agreed to this marriage with no objections of course. If her father saw it best, then it must have been best.

Along the time of her engagement to Lucas, a long underlying problem began rising to the surface of the town. Witches and warlocks were running rampant in the streets of Scotland and causing mayhem. Rumor held that their tiny town was next. Everyone was rightfully worried including Valkyrie, but she did her part of trying to assure the other townspeople that everyone would be fine.

It was the night before her 17th birthday when she met the devil. Except he wasn't crude and evil as she had expected. He was certainly up to no good but he was polite and he was intriguing. His name was Rowan and he was not a witch nor a warlock. He was a demon through and through and even after she wedded to Lucas she couldn't keep herself from falling dangerously in love with Rowan. He taught her that magical beings weren't as evil and scary as the townspeople thought and as much as Valkyrie wanted to run to the town and tell everyone that they were wrong, she knew that was out of the question.

She and Rowan kept their relationship a secret for two years before her father got suspicious. His daughter had been acting ‘out of character’ and it didn't sit well with him. Something was wrong. She had never had a backbone before, why did she have one now. He never expected her to have fallen in the grasp of one of hell’s creatures until he followed her into the woods. She seemed mesmerized by this thing. This thing that looked almost as normal as he. It outraged him. How long had this man been walking amongst them and violating his people? His daughter!

Harold refused to let this atrocity continue, so he devised a plan. And though it was sick and twisted, he went through with it without a hint of hesitation. It was all so simple and so perfect. Three little orphan children lost their lives that night. Strung up in a tree and left there to hang for hours before Harold made his ‘grand discovery’. He announced it to all of the townspeople that there was a demon in their midst and that he had attacked the three children.

Valkyrie stood in the crowd and listened to her fathers rampage. She was panicking and her panic blended in with the panic of every other person there. Her father was waging war against Rowan. He was rounding up the people to go and hang the beast. It terrified her. She knew it wasn't Rowan. Couldn't have been. He had changed. She had changed him. He had admitted that to her. He just wanted to live in bliss with her. She wanted to tell them all that they had the wrong man, that none of it was true, but then she would have to explain how and she couldn't do that. Rowan would never forgive her. Her father sent her to her home and she was resigned to watch from the windows as everyone, including her clueless husband, took to the woods to find her lover. She could only hope that he got away.

The minutes ticked and the hours passed by before Lucas came home. The excitement on his face and the rowdy energy he had told her that all of her worst fears had come true that night. Rowan was dead. She read it on Lucas’ face and she felt it in her heart. She made a lame excuse to leave for her fathers house. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but she just needed to see him.

What she didn't know was that she had kickstarted the timer on her life for good. She had never seen her father so angry with her. She had never seen her father look so demented. He confessed to her that he knew of her secret affair with the monstrosity and that she should be on her knees thanking him for freeing her of whatever curse she had been under.

“It was no curse father. For it was love. I loved him more than I had ever loved anyone else. And he loved me too.” The words felt freeing to her. They felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Do you want to know something else father? You may have killed that man, but you didn't kill his legacy. It lives on. Inside of me.”

It wasn't long after that Valkyrie found herself being dragged by her father to the town square. He summoned the townspeople, Lucas included, and told them all of her whorish ways. They decided there was only one way to deal with her. They would hang her next to her lover. And so they did, but when her neck didn't break and she failed to die, they assumed her a witch. And there was only one way to handle a witch. They chased her with weapons back to the square and beat her before tying her up to a large pole. Her father asked her if she had any last words. Maybe an apology or two. But no, no apologies rolled off her tongue.

"To hell with you all! You’ll all rot for what you have done! I will rise from ash and I will take my revenge! This town will burn, do you hear me!?? Burn!”

And then they lit the match.

o.O.o

Valkyrie’s story touched Karin. She could see where the woman bore her grief and anger from. She could well understand how her pain could manifest into something so dark. Valkyrie was betrayed by her father, by the very people she trusted and took care of. And all for falling in love. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right.

"I'm sorry Valkyrie. I know what it's like. Being turned on against your village.” Karin solemnly admitted.

“I know. One of the many reasons you were chosen I’m afraid.”

“So what happens to you now?” She asked.

“Nothing. I live within you. I suppose I am to lend you whatever power I have, we become one with a much less malicious intent. I'm afraid this is as far as I get to go. There is no heaven or hell for me. I'm cursed to live all of eternity inside another being. No after life with my love. No after life with my child.”

Karin absorbed this information. There wasn't much more that she could do it with it. This was her subconscious. She supposed she was something like a jinchūriki now.

"Karin." Valkyrie called. Karin looked at her. “Your time is running out. What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Time. It moves differently here. It may feel like it hasn't moved at all, but it's been approximately five days since you were put to sleep. If you die, my soul will wonder on to the next person. I’m tired and I don't want to move again. However, if you're content with death then I suppose…”

Karin was shocked to say the least. She hadn't even thought of a time lapse. She didn't know that they were all just waiting on her. She thought eventually she would just wake up. That wasn't the case though. She had to get out of there and fast.

“How do I go back?” She asked. Valkyrie pointed a lone finger in the distance. There was nothing.

“I don't see anything.” She confessed.

"You have to open your mind to possibilities girl. If you don't believe, you won't leave.” Karin continues staring at the distance. Her heart raced and she couldn't help but to wonder, how much time had passed during this conversation? What if it was already too late? But it couldn't be. She’d come too far and suffered too much in so little time to just die now. And after hearing Valkyrie’s tale, she felt entitled to protect the woman's spirit. But she couldn't see anything.

“Val how do I…” Valkyrie was gone. Karin was alone. “Well shit.” She looked back at the darkness again. ‘Open your eyes Karin.’ But she didn't know what that meant. What was she supposed to be believing in though? This world? Herself? Her future? She had no fucking idea. She felt the anxiety creeping up the back of her neck. It wrapped itself around her throat and squeezed.   
  
So much more time had to have passed. She was losing her mind in here. She felt like she could feel herself slipping away.

Her eyes shut. ‘Breathe.’ When had she gotten this bad? When she had become so easily disturbed by her own mind? What was this world doing to her?

‘It’s you.’ That voice wasn't hers. It was Valkyrie. Karin searched for her again, but she didn't visibly see her. ‘It’s you.’ She whispered again. Almost as if she were standing right next to Karin.

“Me?” She repeated touching her chest with an open palm. “I’m doing this?” She was doing this. She was doing this to herself. She was holding herself back by looking at everything so negatively. Kato himself said he essentially wanted the best for her. He wanted her to thrive. That's what he said. It was hard though. To hear all these awful rumors about herself and still go in with a positive attitude. Still think that they would let her live in peace. But then again, when had she ever lived in peace? She’d hopped from home to home with her mother because of her heritage. She’d been mistreated and abused after her mother's death. She’d been targeted for being an accomplice to not one, but two men and now here she was.

She had managed to hold her head high and be brave through all of that. Why couldn't she do that now? Maybe they would understand, maybe they would realize that she was a mere vessel and she wasn't responsible for her actions. Maybe they would understand that she had been a tool of warfare and in a way was also a victim. Karin was a pure bred fighter and she had always told herself that. She refused to punk out now. She refused to give up now. She had lived through hell time and time again and always managed to come up on the other side. It would take time and patience. Just like it always had.

But she could do this. “I can do this.” She breathed in and out. Heavy breaths to relieve her stress and focused her vision. There was a door.

o.O.o

Kato watched Karin’s eyes flutter open. They were changed, no longer the plain red dots. They had deep black pupils to them. Probably a hunger sign. She was already beginning to look different. Not much to it, just more defining features, paler skin.

He removed the straps on her and felt her skin. It was starting to feel icy. Still somewhat warm from the suit, but not much. Just enough to give her a chance to slowly adjust to the new feel of her skin.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Re-familiarizing herself witheverything. Probably realized she wasn't dreaming.

“Mark it.” He instructed Angelica. “Thursday, September 16th, 2017.”

Karin groaned on the hospital bed.

“Congratulations, you made it. Now just 512 more days to go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schaeunna Nez: Pronounced Shae-aw-nuh. 
> 
> Lisan: Lee-sun


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this chapter will introduce our first few InuYasha crossover characters as well as some more Saigonian Originals.

Chapter T.h.r.e.e: Is This Clarity?

o.O.o

Karin could count the days that went by now without even trying. Kato had lots of things that he wanted to implement into her confinement. One of those things was working with her anxiety and anger issues with counseling. Every Tuesday, she saw a woman named Grace. For two hours a day, every damn Tuesday, Grace analyzed Karin and tried forcing her to talk and open up to her. When Grace realized that Karin had a tough time opening up to strangers, or just people in general she decided Karin could open up to herself in a journal. It was a small, black, leather book with plenty of blank lined pages for Karin to scribble in and she did so frequently. In her journal there was a small yearly calendar. She crossed off each day as it went by.

Today was October 1st, 2017; a Sunday. On Sunday’s Karin was usually free to ponder around her room and sleep or if she wanted, the guards could escort her outside to a small field that had brick walls on all sides surrounding the door. It was sufficient enough for her to bask in the natural sunlight and breathe fresh air, but it still kept the solidarity as she couldn't see anyone else. She didn't feel like going outside today, she was rowdy and anxious. Today was one of those awful days where she could feel way too much and had so little to do about it. She would ponder around her room a hundred times. Mess up and remake her bed a thousand times. Then maybe do a handstand for a few hours or until she threw herself to the floor.

It was around three in the afternoon when Kato came to her room and gathered her being. He led her to what she called the lecture room. It was the room that he often scolded her in whenever he heard she was ‘acting out’ or ‘assaulting the guards.’ Karin knew nothing of the sort. She never acted out, she simply got a little loud when one of the guards tried feeding her that disgusting human food. Her body didn't want to digest those types of food anymore and anytime she tried, it made her vomit relentlessly. So when that same annoying bastard tried restraining her and force feeding her she may have used her newfound strength to kick him threw a wall in the hall. He deserved it in her mind. At the end of that lecture, Kato had slapped what he called a ‘binding bracelet’ on her wrist and she had become just as human as she had once before been. It was a strange sensation, necessarily breathing again. Feeling her heart thump in her chest.

A few days later when her so called punishment was over and he removed the band, she no longer needed to breathe the same air as others and her heart didn't move anymore. It was bittersweet but she would get over it.

"I didn't punch any guards.” She growled as she plopped down in the chair. Kato rolled his pretty eyes at her and shoved a book in her direction. “What the Hell is this?”

“It's a book. About Saigon. How it came into play, how I created this world that you’ll eventually be living in. What inspired it. The history of all our people. I want you to read it.” He said.

“Well I figured that.” Karin muttered. The book in her hands was thick. The print was excessively small and there was close to 1250 pages. She would read this by the end of the night. She was very curious. Would it answer all of her questions? No, but it would answer quite a bit and maybe even some she didn't know she had.

“Why are you giving this to me now? Why wait so long?” She asked him.

“Because it’s October. October is a very crucial month for us for obvious reasons. It just felt like the perfect timing.” She disagreed with him, but she didn't care much to argue about it. Karin took her book and was escorted back to her room. She curled up in a tight ball on her bed and flipped the book open. The pages were very old and she was careful with how she turned them. She didn't want it to fall to pieces.

The first chapter was about the warring times between humans and mythics as they were then called. The humans were hunting down the mythics, entrapping and killing them. Torturing a few. The backlash from the mythics was expected. They ensnared humans, cast spells upon them, killed them, ate a few of them. The bloodshed was ridiculous. It finally came to an end when the humans tried to have a mass burning of a few captured mythics. Kato, who had tucked himself away from the rest of the world after being shunned for his docile ways by his fellow mythics, reappeared and built a great earthy barrier between the two worlds.

He riled his people together and made them listen to how this wasn't working. How they could never defeat the humans if they kept working separately the way they had been. They were vulnerable and needed a united front. They needed reliance and compliance. Kato gathered the witches, and the warlocks and introduced them to the vampires. The badasses of their kind who hid in the shadows and at night, liked to come out and play. The holy trinity of magic they were called. They aligned and when the trinity struck, it was with a God reckoning force that the human world did not want to be privy to. They formed an agreement. Kato and his people would live separately apart from all of the humans and leave them be so long as they humans minded their business and stayed in their place. They agreed.

It was Kato who stood in the center of what was once nothing, raised his arms and grew life from the desolate ground. Because of his earth nature, the things he built were of wood and vine. Flowers blossomed on massive shady trees and rivers ran rampant through the land. The smell of fresh pine inhaled by the people's nostrils and the purity of the aspect was magnificent. Homes sprouted from the roots and provided shelter and all of his work drew out more and more mythics who were seeking refuge into the world of which they so rightfully belonged. Kato invited them in with open arms, no matter the race, no matter the past. It was a fresh start for them all. It wasn't long after that the people decided they needed a leader. Someone who would guide them on their journey through this newfound life. Kato was the obvious choice. He became a king and named his kingdom Saigon, after his late father Saigen Igarashi. A once renowned and former Japanese king of Scotland, a land he acquired.

o.O.o

In chapter 2, Kato made an alliance with a newfound party that had traveled a long way to join hands with his world. All the way from Egypt, a family of seers had come to offer their services to Kato. The year was 1910, and Saigon was slowly thriving. They were modernizing and building a government. Kato had decided that being in complete and utter control was exhausting. He called Saigon a democratic monarchy. Democratic so that the people could lend their suggestions and give him ideas as to how to care for them. A monarchy because he knew that the people couldn't be left in complete control over what happened because sometimes they got crazy and he would need his absolute power to turn down any dumb ideas.

Anyways, back to this group of seers. A woman named Israa headed this group. A tall woman with thick heavy black hair fell down around in her in waves. Her skin was the color of milk chocolate and her eyes dark chocolate. Israa proposed an offer to Kato. Her daughter, Fatema, would serve under him as his personal seer. Her powers would allow him to see natural disasters and eventual problematic events as they arose. They were limited though. For instance, Fatema could not simply will herself to see, it happened on its own and Fatema could never see the entirety of an event. Just hints and pieces to it. They asked for a place in the land and immortality in return.

He accepted their offer and took Fatema as his personal seer and assistant. She did well, but the woman was wretched. She had many opinions on issues that didn't involve her and she wasn't afraid of voicing them no matter how inappropriate the timing may have been. When Fatema married, Kato gladly offered her a leave of absence to tend to her cultural wifely duties. She was supposed to bear at least one child to keep the lineage going. That child’s name was Sariah. When she was 16, she took her mother's spot as his personal seer. He agreed that it was for the better.

The rest of the book covered the different species, or races as they preferred, of mythics. The gypsies, the wizards, the guardian witches, the werewolves, the succubi and incubi, the lycans came and started war. From all over the world the races came together to live in this world known as Saigon. Kato ruled from 1910-1967 before he got tired of the responsibility. It was heavy on his shoulders and he missed his solitude. So when he decided to leave the throne, he replaced his absence with a former student of his. Alec Deveraux. Deveraux’s rule rung in a new era for the people. He and his wife wanted fast advancement.

Technology was happening in their neighboring country, America. Even though magically Saigon was advancing at a rampant pace and due to the educational systems that Kato had installed, the races were more informed and more in control than ever. If they wanted they could have easily knocked America off the face of the planet, but civility was brought with the Deveraux era so they let them live in peace and to make sure peace remained they offered entrepreneurial trade with the smaller country. For instance, businesses in America could sign a legal binding contract to be established in Saigon. Signing the contract stated that they legally agreed to allow Saigon to change around the product or some of the company policies to better fit their people. In return for taking these businesses, Saigon paid to have these services on their land.

They also wanted their people to obtain some sense of normality between them. Since they couldn't call themselves human, they had to think of another way to define themselves because ‘species’ was demoralizing to some. The term metamorphic human or ‘meta-human’ arose.

The Deveraux’s were about inclusion and progression. They ruled from 1968-2000 before passing the throne over to their son James Deveraux. The current throne holder of Saigon. James had initially not wanted the throne and after a long battle with narcotics he accepted his seat alongside his wife, Hanna Corbay. The previous vessel to Valkyrie.

Like his predecessors, James wanted to install change and inclusion. He wanted the people to know that they were just as much important as his family. So he opened up a new policy in the land. Considering they were half democratic, he gave the people the right to vote. If his son or daughter refused to take their birth seat on the throne then it would be left to the people to campaign a few nominees and then before leaving the throne, the king would choose his predecessor.

Essentially the book taught her the history of her new home and its people and it was a lot to take in, but it was a general good read. And it came with pictures. A family photo of each of the royal families and some photos of Saigon through the years. She couldn't help but notice that Kato’s family photo was a mere loner photo of himself. She would ask him about that later.

Karin placed the book at the foot of her bed and rolled over to look at the ceiling. She imagined the technology in Saigon was probably far more advanced than in Shinobi and part of her was eager to experience it. Just a little under 500 days left to go.

o.O.o

Kagura pulled into her driveway around nine o’ clock that night. She hastily grabbed her keys and her bags and hustled towards the front door to the home she shared with her older sister. She was exhausted and cold and more than glad to be back home. With everything that had been happening lately, the Royal Militia had been undergoing more field training than usual and after spending the last two weeks in the forest doing blitz training, she was sick of the dreaded ‘t’ word.

Kagura entered the house, it was warm and smelled slightly of roast beef. She was glad to see that Kanna hadn't forgotten to feed herself. The older girl was probably deep asleep by now, tomorrow she left to start her own blitz training and she would need to be as refreshed as possible.

She climbed the stairs to her room and dropped her bags on the ground by the door. She needed a long hot shower before she crawled into her bed.

The pressure from the shower nozzle felt amazing against the palm of her skin. She peeled the sweaty and muddy clothes off her body. Her hands worked out the tight knot in her hair and the heavy chocolate brown strands shrouded her shoulders and back. She temperature tested the water again with her foot this time and stepped into the stream of water.

Her skin, doused with soap and water, was cleared of all dirt and debris. It was relaxing to say the least and it brought a smile to her face. Kagura loved the feel of water beating against her skin. She considered it a vast improvement from her old way of bathing. Having to wash off in whatever spring or river she could find and hope no lowly demons came wandering around looking for a fight or something else.

When her skin started to prune she figured it was time to get out; turning the handle of the faucet to off, she grabbed her fluffy burgundy towel and wrapped it around her waist. She grabbed a smaller towel from the sink and used it to towel dry her hair.

She looked at herself in the foggy bathroom mirror. Even the haze on the mirror couldn't hide the bags under her eyes. They would only get bigger, Kagura knew full well that even despite how mortally exhausted she was, sleep would yet again evade her for hours until right at the minute that she had to get up and be productive with life.

It was the one thing she hated about being back here, in the real world, in a dimension with people who breathed and had running blood in their veins. When she was dead, she could sleep all day. No stress, no productivity, no nightmares. Just an endless sleep. It wasn't all bad though, being alive that was.

This time she was free, she was just as free as she had always wanted to be. There were some people who would say she had too much freedom and used it too frequently, but she would heavily disagree and tell them that as long as her fun wasn't killing anybody then everything was fine.

The brunette laid down on the soft mattress and pulled the duvet blankets up to her chin. The damp locks of her wavy hair scattered across the sheets. Her red eyes gazed off into the darkness. Thinking. Remembering. It was almost just like yesterday. She felt her soul being pulled from the netherworld. She remembered the cold, hard stone of the birthing tub she had yet again risen from. The looks of the faces on the people who were responsible for her resurrection. Some overly excited and eager looking man with long silver hair and big amber eyes. He had one jagged black stripe on either side of his cheek. At first she had believed him to be Sesshomaru, and then when she realized how stupid it was to believe that Sesshomaru would be smiling at her, let alone anyone she realized it was someone else. Someone she had not met before.

This man happily introduced himself as Saigen Igarashi. He was Sesshomaru’s older brother. Kagura gave herself little time to debate with him on the authenticity of that statement before her eyes settled on the second person in the room.

A small woman. Probably an inch or two shorter than Kagura herself. She had beautiful tan skin and wide bright green eyes. Her dark brown hair looked soft and rather…messy. As if only moments before someone had taken a sharp blade and chopped it off. There was no specific method to the madness of the cut of her hair. It was uneven, the ends had suffered, and her bangs were sticking up in all sorts of direction. The girl looked fine though, completely normal. As if this was how she wore her hair all the time. Kagura decided the girl was undeniably cute. Saigen introduced this adorable woman as Daniella Donziello. He instructed her to call Daniella, Dannie because anything else just made her really upset.

Finally Kagura's eyes landed on the final person in the room. The one that was just rising out of her own birthing tub. Kanna. She looked the same. Her small, childlike stature and her snowlike hair. Her big jet black eyes held nothing, like they always had. No clear understanding of what was happening nor did they hold care about the matter either. She looked..bored. Miserably, miserably bored.

Aside from the obvious Kanna, Dannie and Saigen became Kagura's first two friends in her new home world. They were close. Certain events in his life led to Saigen leaving the picture for awhile and allowed for Dannie to get even closer with Kanna and especially Kagura, but he was still a very important person to Kagura.

The last time she looked at the clock it read 2:38 AM. If she took some sleepers now she would get at least five hours of sleep before her alarm clock went off. She figured it was better than nothing and swallowed two little white pills and then rolled on her back to stare at the ceiling. Any minute now.

o.O.o

“So what’s so important about October anyways?” Karin asked Kato. Her hands were folded promptly over her chest and her back was pressed against the steel of a chair she always sat it while she was in the lecture room. Today he was dressed in a fancy looking attire. He called it a suit. It was charcoal grey with a white undershirt. His shoes were so shiny and black. The top three buttons on his white shirt were left open and Karin was very tempted to steal a peak at his chest which she assumed had to be perfectly chiseled. The outfit was different from his usual jeans and tees thing but Karin didn't mind it.

“October is the month of Halloween. You probably call it Obon.” Obon, Karin was aware of that holiday. She never really celebrated it, she didn't have much time to celebrate holidays in between experiments and man hunting. She nodded still.

“It's particularly special for us because it’s our day. Of course people are free to walk around in their true form all they want here, but it's bigger than that on Halloween. It's a mass celebration and a reminder of everything that we’ve struggled through to still make it to this day.” He paused and raised a delicate eyebrow. “Oh and it's also my youngest daughters birthday, so, there's that.”

“Youngest!?” Karin scoffed.

“Yes Karin, youngest. I'm not as young as I look you know.” He muttered.

"How fucking old are you?” The man ignored her. She was used to it, but that didn't make it any less annoying. “How old is your kid?”

“It’s none of your business. We have some important things to discuss. Did you finish reading the book?”

“Yeah. Why are you alone in your family photo?” She pondered next.

“I was alone at the time. Do you understand the foundation of Saigon a little better now? Do you understand what this is?” The red head huffed and leaned on the table. She propped her chin up in her hand.

"I understand more. The book was very informative, but don't you think that question is a little premature for someone who’s never physically seen the outside of this prison? I mean I can read something in a book all day long, but I'm not gonna ever understand it until I live in it. Right?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, the most important thing right now is that you know the history and the people. We’ll work more on getting you technologically and culturally advanced.

“Right now I want to discuss a new treatment that you’ll start undergoing next week.”

“Treatment?” She echoed.

“Yes. It’s one of my talents, or powers if you will. I call it chaining.” He raised his hands, palms facing her. “It begins with me inserting the tips of my pointer finger nails into your temporal lobes. The direct contact connects me to your mind and your memory. I can see everything that you’ve lived through.”

“E-everything?” Karin breathed. She gulped hard and prayed that by some miracle he didn't hear it. She didn't like what he was saying to her. It seemed invasive and Karin was never pro invasion of her privacy.

“Everything. I’ll be able to rifle through your memories and chain away the bad. You’ll still have them, they’ll still always be in the back of your mind, but they won't affect you the way they did before and probably do now.”

The redhead shifted in her seat uncomfortably. He was right, she did have nightmares about her childhood and all the people involved in making her life hell. And there were a lot of things about those days that left her constantly bothered, but she had her mechanisms and she dealt with it day by day.

Kato could sense her discomfort though. He knew having this discussion wouldn't be an easy one. He was demanding passage into a persons deepest darkest memories. The things that changed them, these things that scarred them and left them shells of their former selves.

Karin was no different. If she were, she wouldn’t be in the position she was in now. She had been targeted because of her very demons.

“Karin,” he said as gently as he could manage, “I know you’re uncomfortable. I know we don't know each other well enough to be trading deep dark secrets like this, and I can tell that you’ve put a lot of practice into pretending everything's okay and you can handle the world. I’m not here to torment you with past misfortunes or judge you because of tough decisions that you had to make.

I merely want to help you. To ensure not only the safety of Saigon, but yours as well.” Kato paused and softly ground his teeth together. He let out a deep breath and leaned over to her, cupping her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Karin?” He muttered. She didn't reply or make any noise but the slight widening of her eyes told him she was paying attention. “I care. I wouldn't have spared you if I didn't.”

“You don't even know me.” She whispered quickly. He shrugged and sat back in his seat again.

“Maybe. Maybe I already know more than you think I do.” He confessed. Karin was confused by what that meant, but she didn't press it. She just wanted to be back in her room, huddled under sheets, and dreaming of being back in Shinobi with her team and maybe even Lord Orochimaru. The last thing Kato had told her before giving her her silent wish was that whether she verbally agreed or not, this treatment was included in her sentence and she would have to do it anyways.

She made a mental decision to fight it with all the effort her new inhuman body could muster.

o.O.o

On Monday the guards came in and slapped the power stripping bracelet onto Karin's wrist. They dragged her screaming and kicking all the way down to the room she was transformed in and strapped her down to the bed. Her heart had started to beat again and it was getting faster and faster with every second. Her wrists and ankles were starting to burn from struggling so much against her restraints and she was certain her skin would be red and raw by the time she was free.

The bastard, Kato, was the only one left in the room with her. No guard, no Angelica, just the two of them. His icy palm brushed her hair out of the way and she tensed when she felt the sharp tip of his elongated nails resting on her temples. Karin wasn't a beggar, she’d realized long long ago that begging did nothing for the soul and it was utterly useless. But even still, knowing she was on the verge of being violated and trespassed against by someone so seemingly perfect, someone so regal and eloquent like Kato. It hurt, it made her feel punitive, inferior, embarrassed. It made her feel enough to want to beg. To beg to keep the secrets secret and for them to simply live their lives separately and pretend like Karin could someday come even slightly close to being on his level.

It was futile. He would delve into her being and realize what she was. She was a tiny, scared girl hiding in the body of a headstrong woman. She was a depressed soul silently sleeping in the heart of a warrior. She wasn't really her.

o.O.o

Kato’s amber eyes slowly moved about in the darkness. It was cold, colder than what he was used to considering. He turned around in his spot looking for some sign of life. If he had blinked he may have missed it. He may have missed her. The small figure of a little girl with bright red hair dashing off into the dark.

“Karin.” He whispered. He started after her, slowly. He had to be cautious when wandering around in someone's mind. There was never any telling what kind of things lurked around in there. For a brief moment he was able to keep an eye on her as she kept running. Her tiny legs tying to keep up with the rest of her body. Her small arms working to push her farther, faster. He could hear the tiny panting as her childlike lungs burned for air and relief. Then she was gone and he stopped. The temperature had dropped more and if he exhaled he could see his breath.

“Karin.” He called. “You can come out…I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice bounced off the air and rang back loudly in his ears. It was almost like déjà vu, almost. There was a faint scuffle in the dark and he turned to his left. He could see the slightest hint of red peeking out from behind something he couldn't yet see. She was scared of him. Rightfully so he guessed.

“Karin,” he said quietly, crouching down to her level. “What are you afraid of? I told you I'm not here to hurt you, didn't I? I'm here to help you.”

He could still hear her breathing. It wasn't as ragged as it once was and he could tell she'd recovered from her running earlier. Then a set of tiny, ashen fingers curled around the dark and the young girl peeked her head out at him. He offered her a small, serene smile. She stepped out a bit more. He could see half of her frame. The dirty lavender shirt, worn out beige pants and her lavender sandals. Her red hair was a greasy mess that lay tangled in knots on her shoulders. It didn't have the same wild unnatural cut that it bore today, but her glasses looked the same. Broken framed and taped in the middle. Although, they were slightly bigger than they were now.

"Promise you won't hurt me.” It was barely a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear in the atmosphere. He nodded and couldn't help the slight pang of guilt that suddenly arose in his chest.

“My name is Kato. How old are you Karin?” The girl looked hesitant to answer him but she quietly responded with the age of 10.

“How’d you get in here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

“You know what this is?” Karin nodded.

“It’s the dark room.” The dark room, right, so she didn't know exactly what was going on. Maybe it was for the better Kato decided.

“Is it always dark in here?” He asked her. Karin shook her head quickly.

“No.” She answered. “But I like it dark. It's bad when there's light.” She sighed.

"Why is that? What’s in the light?” He pressed.

“It’s sad in there. There's lots of scary things in the light.” She told him. She sat down on the ground then and began picking at her nails. Kato suppressed a sigh. He didn't have all day to spend in here and the longer he remained the more pain Karin would be in would she woke up. He needed to establish a sense of trust between the younger Karin and himself. He needed her to feel comfortable opening up to him. He was slightly pleased that he lucked out with her younger self than trying to deal with one of the older more vicious Karin’s.

“Karin, you don't like being sad do you? That's why you keep it dark in here?” She nodded without looking up at him.

“I can't always help it though. Sometimes it just happens.”

“The light just comes through?” She nodded again. “When did the light last come through?”

“Oh it's been awful lately. We can't sleep. We stay up all night and the light starts to shine…” her small voice trailed off and she looked into the distance. “It hasn't been as bad as it was I guess. Not too long ago, the light was too bright. It was so bright it got hot and the sad things wouldn't stop screaming at me.”

The man knew she was referring to the possession. All her painful memories were running rampant in her mind, terrorizing her. And her lack of sleep now could only be coming from her over activeness due to the transformation. He would have to see to it that they ran some insomnia testing on Karin. Hopefully that wasn't the case, but just to be safe.

“I can make it stop.” He told her. “I can make the sad things go away. You can have light without the pain.” Kato’s words caught her attention again and she whipped her head up to him. Surely this man was lying to her. He couldn't just ‘make it stop.’ She had been trying for an eternity and it still hadn't stopped, it only got worse with age so what made him think he was different?

“You’re lying to me.” She growled frowning at him.

“I'm not. I can prove it to you. I’ll let you pick out one sad thing that keeps you up at night, and I'll make it stop hurting you.”

“Well how are you gonna do that?” He could hear the doubt in her voice.

“With magic. Do you believe in magic?” Of course she didn't. She shook her head. “Well, today I'll make you a believer. If you’re willing to trust me that is.”

Karin heaved a deep sigh and rolled her head to the side. “Promise it won't hurt?” He nodded. It wasn't a direct lie. It wouldn't hurt her per say, but the older Karin…

“I need you to show me at least one sad thing. I’ll make it disappear, less sadness. It won't bother you as much. Understand?”

Karin nodded. She stood and turned around in all the darkness and waved Kato along with her. He followed her quickly, his ears tuned in to the sound of her sandals clicking against the ground. They stopped somewhere in the middle of it all and he knew this was it. This was the first memory that she wanted him to make disappear. She looked at him over her shoulder and he nodded towards her, silently egging her on. Her arm reached out in front of her and about as slowly as the last few events had unfolded, one of the memories came to life.

Like an image painted on a window seal it stood out in front of him. Like he were seeing it through her own red eyes. A woman was covered by a thin sheet on a table in a dimly lit room. Her arm, covered in teeth marks, was the only thing visible aside from a small clump of red hair that hung off the edge of the table.

“That's mama.” She whispered. “She left and she never came back for me.” Kato stared quietly. Seeing this image in front of him reminded him of seeing his own mother perish as a young child, all those centuries ago.

“Can you make it stop hurting?” He heard her ask. He muttered back that he would do his best and softly nudged her out of the way. He inhaled deeply and his amber eyes glowed a soft red. He raised his hands, lacing his ring and pinkies together, pressing his middle and forefingers together and crossing his thumbs at the knuckles. He felt that wonderful tingling sensation coursing through his veins. It grew warmer and warmer by the second. It was the magic, the power passed down to him by generations and the power forced upon him by past acquaintances. It felt wonderful. It felt like being alive. Truly alive.

Young Karin watched him with curiosity. She knew what ninjutsu was and she’d seen people use it before, but she herself had never been able to do so. She watched as chains shot out swiftly from his hands and began wrapping themselves around the image. Compressing it and boxing it away in the back of her mind.

“Are you done? Is that all?” She asked. Kato nodded once, swiftly.

“It’s that simple. You won't notice it immediately. That's the point however, you notice it so much less. The pain of it all..it doesn't reach your active thoughts as much as it used to. It’s literal bliss.”

o.O.o

Two days after her chaining therapy Karin was still sore and her head was still pounding. Kato said it wouldn't always hurt like this, that it was merely a side effect from the first time and for being lost in there for so long. She had been hoping for a break from the awful treatment, nevertheless, he insisted that the more frequent they were the less painful they’d become. She would adjust.

She didn't argue with him about it, she was simply too tired. Instead she just let them go about their business. They ran an insomnia test on her. She came clean and was decidedly not an insomniac. Her sleep cycle was simply skewered. They would be placing her on a strict sleep schedule. Again, she didn't complain.

After the first four months of chaining she had to admit that it hurt less. There was still a considerable amount of nausea and headaches, but everything hurt so much less. It was almost like he’d said, she could still remember the awful times. They were present in her mind and there was no erasing them, but she could think about them for hours and not feel anything. She was numb to the thoughts that used to haunt her.

Her journal told her that today was February 11th, 2018. She’d missed the new year. Apparently it's pretty wild in Saigon, or at least that's what Kato says. He tells her that in 2020, she’ll get to experience it for herself. He also tells her that the 11th starts what they call ‘Foreign Week’ in Saigon. It’s an annual ‘celebration’ that the entire country hates as they become wildly overpopulated with temporary visitors who come to enjoy their Spring Sprout. Every year like clockwork, at 6AM on the 11th, all the flowers and plants come to life around the land and give off a redolent smell that incites a eutopias behavior in the mythics. It’s purely beautiful to watch and really quite simple.

Foreigners used to come just to watch the event and take part in the sheer happiness of worldly restoration in Saigon, but now many of them come because in the midst of all the joy, the traveling prices become extremely low and they like to take advantage of living the usually unaffordable Saigonian lifestyle while they can.

They trash the streets, start brawls, loot, and skyrocket the crime rate in Saigon. This even ends on the 18th. Kato tells her he’s been heavily considering shutting down their boarders during the Spring Sprout to prevent the problem, but they don't want to ruin it for the genuinely decent people and for their own human residents who like to travel to and from during that time.

Karin adds viewing the Spring Sprout to her bucket list.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I'm writing...sometimes I forget that I have to actually end the chapter at some point. Extreme longevity.

Chapter F.o.u.r: Sweet Release

To say that August 16th, 2018 was a big day for Karin was a vast understatement. It was a day she’d been waiting for, for far too long. She was finally being moved to maximum security prison. She would still be locked away and have little to no freedom to her name, but she didn't care. She simply wanted the human contact. Kato still frequented for their appointments, but that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to lay in a room and talk about the same repetitive things that she hated talking about anyways. She wanted to hold genuine conversation with someone about anything, literally anything other than therapeutic practices and Saigonian laws.

If she just got to listen to someone tell her about the biggest shit they’d ever taken in their lifetime that would be fine with her because that’s how desperate she was for basic communication.

Before moving her, there were things she had to do. Her hair which now grew at accelerated rates was almost floor length after refusing to have it cut for the past few months, would need to be chopped at least shoulder length. Her nails which had grown longer and sharper would need to be cut and dulled down. She was to receive a microchip implant that would restrict her power usage. It was worse than the stupid bracelet they put on her.

Eventually she was loaded into a black truck with dark windows and transported to her new home. A massive building with high gates and guards patrolling the yards. Her escorts led her through the double doors and up to a check in desk where Karin met her first new face. The man’s name was Sylvester. He liked to go by Sylve and he was a tall, muscular man with more muscles than body.

Sylve gave her a name tag that read ‘UZUMAKI’ and told her that she would be taken by a woman named Raeanne to in processing.

Raeanne was a cold woman with moles all over her face who looked like she’d never once in her life heard a good joke. She also didn't like nicknames so Raeanne was something Karin would have to get used to saying. The brunette made Karin strip down completely and bend over to perform a cough test that made her feel completely violated. After being probed and prodded by Raeanne she was taken to a private shower where she quickly scrubbed her skin and redressed in her new inmate outfit. A pair of baggy dark blue pants and a matching t-shirt. They gave her a pair of black slip on shoes to wear on her feet.

Afterwards a bag full of other clothes was tossed at her and she was left to sit in a room alone until the rest of her in processing ‘friends’ arrived. It was an extra twenty minutes of solitary that she didn't ask for but thankfully when it was over she and five other women were marched down the corridor to the inmates quarters.

One by one they were rattled off into a cell with their cell mate and Karin watched anxiously. Some women were crying in their cells and some were yelling at the criers to shut up before they committed atrocious acts of violence upon them in retaliation. Tough crowd.

Karin was the last one to get her assigned cell and mate. Cell B84. It was on the second floor of corridor B on the right side of the hall. Her cell mate was a woman named Roegan Peters.

Roegan was talkative. Karin was inwardly grateful.

Within 32 minutes she learned that Roegan was a 24 years old succubus. She had only been locked up for 4 months so far but it was apparently okay because she’d done this whole thing before so she was pretty familiar with the game. She was in last time for impersonating a government official and stealing confidential information on some pretty high status men in other worlds to sell on her black market sex site. She got off easy last time for being a first offender and agreeing to undergo a memory erasing of all the information she had obtained. 3 ½ years in max. This time she was in for helping the operation of an illegal drug ring that specialized in selling magically enhanced shrooms to foreigners. She turned in everyone involved for 11 months in prison.

Roegan knew her to get herself into trouble and she knew how to weasel her way out. Aside from her cell mates background, Roegan herself was a stunningly beautiful girl.

She had smooth ivory skin, thick dark brown hair that hung heavy on her shoulders. Her lips were thick and plump with a natural pink tint to them and her eyes were grayish brown. She was shorter than Karin, probably 5’5 and even in her prison jumper Karin could tell that the woman had curves you probably wouldn't have seen very often in shinobi. The only thing bad about her was the annoying way she spoke as if everything she said was a question. Karin decided she could bypass this awful habit for the time being. She was simply happy to finally have someone else to talk to.

o.O.o

Officer Dayne Mills was what Roegan referred to as the resident hottie. In Karin’s opinion he was about a decent 6, but she cared nothing for him romantically so who was she to judge? He was tall and lanky, he had curly blonde hair and clear green eyes. He was really timid from what Karin had seen so far and he hated confrontation. It made her question why he even worked in a prison. He wouldn't have lasted a day if he had worked for her.

Roegan thought of him as her winter flower. He was simply the one pure and sweet thing about her morally lacking and cold love life, which apparently wasn't an uncommon thing for Succubi because they didn't typically look for love and romance, mainly just their next sexually driven escapade.

Officer Mills however was someone that Roegan envisioned herself living happily ever after with and nothing Mills said or did was going to change that. Karin distinctly remembers December 25th, 2018. Roegan had stocked up on her commissary money to buy a bunch of random trinkets that she put together in a makeshift basket and hand delivered to Mills. She had been so nervous but so excited and Karin had never been so angry at someone for rejecting someone else’s love advances. She was shockingly impressed at Roegan’s bounce back however. Two days later it was like he never threw her basket in the trash and walked away from her. She was already thinking of what to put in his birthday basket.

His birthday was January 7th and Roegan again hand delivered a basket to him full of smiles and girlish giggles and again he dumped it in the trash and turned his back like she wasn't there. Karin found herself livid. She interrogated Kato about the rules on prisoner and inmate relations . His exact wording had been…

“We reserve prisoners their right to respond to sexual intercourse because the last thing we want is two people falling for each other and then having an innocent guard being thrown in prison for rape because we decided a grown ass man or woman wasn't responsible enough to consent to sex. Of course, due to the imbalance of power, we don't encourage the active seeking of sexual relations with inmates, but if the event does occur it will be thoroughly reviewed instead of simply branding someone a rapist….why? Are you interested in a guard?”

Karin was left to assume that Mills simply wasn't interested in Roegan, which was fine, but that didn't mean he had to treat her like shit. It had to be some kind of power move. On January 15th, Karin was stationed in her work center. The library. She was restocking the shelves and cleaning up displays when Mills walked in. It was just the two of them as everyone else was usually getting ready for dinner or finishing up in their own work center at this time. This was normal though, he always came in here to read on his down time. He liked to read books about astrology and Karin found it amusing. He was a star nerd.

She dusted a few more books off and blew a fast puff of air before strolling towards him. He didn't notice her at first, peering over his shoulder and reading a few words of the text. She ran a hand through her growing hair and sat across from him in the empty wooden chair.

“Hello Officer Mills.” She said startling him. He slid his book down to the other end of the table and blushed a little red in the cheeks almost like he’d been caught doing something embarrassing …oh, wait.

“Inmate Uzumaki. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you-

“Be in the cafeteria? Nah. Dinner doesn't start for another 35 minutes and honestly I've got nothing to prep for, it's just food.” She said.

“Work? Why aren't you at work?” He sighed frowning at her. Karin matched his frown and scoffed.

“Seriously? You come in here everyday and read a shit ton of sun books and leave them scrawled across the table.” She barked. “Guess what underpaid inmate has to clean up your mess!”

“You..you work here?” He asked. Karin rolled her eyes, she honestly, honestly didn't see what her friend saw in this guy.

“Right, let's just skip to it. Are you single Officer Mills?”

“Excuse me?” He choked. “Inmate, you're not in any position to be asking me those kinds of questions.”

“It's just a harmless question, I'm curious.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Why does it matter to you? What are you gonna start harassing me like your bat shit cellmate?” He hissed with a roll of his eyes. Karin chewed on the inside of her bottom lip. Roegan was currently the only friend that she had cared to acquire since her arrival and she was somewhat protective over her. Mainly because she’d come to learn that Roegan, despite her criminal mischief, was a wildly misunderstood sweetheart who cared far too much about the wellbeing and feelings of other people. She was overly nice and just liked having too much fun.

“She’s not harassing you, she's just…she has a crush.” She defended.

“No, its harassment. I can't tell you the number of times I’ve told her to stay away from me and she just won't go away.”

“You work in our corridor for fucks sake, how much farther do you want her to be? Out the window?!” She exclaimed flailing her arms around. Roegan only approached Mills when he did inmate counts and room checks because aside from work, yard time, showers, and meals, they had to stay in their rooms all day. Showers were all girl exclusive, no male guards at all. Mills usually didn't have to patrol the cafeteria so he spent most meals in the library and if Roegan saw him during yard time she waved and kept moving because her tanning was essentially more important than getting her feelings hurt again. And as far as work went, Roegan was stationed in the washroom and Mills didn't patrol on that side of the building.

Karin could almost roll her eyes at the lack of presence they had in each other's lives.

“Whatever, I'm not allowed to tell someone when they aren't being harassed so fine, but did you ever think that maybe she just wants you to say at least one nice thing to her? What exactly is your unappeal to Peters?” He started to answer right away and then it must have dawned on him that it made no sense for him to be having this conversation with her whatsoever.

“Ya know inmate, it looks pretty shitty in here and you’ve only got 12 minutes until dinner. You should probably get cleaning.” Karin's face scrunched and she looked around. She did a fabulous job maintaining her library.

“I don't know what you're talking about. What mess?” Mills smirked at her and walked slowly over to a small bookcase display and toppled it over before leaving smugly.

“Bastard.” Karin hissed under her breath. Maybe he wasn’t as timid as she first thought. She proceeded to clean up the mess and reported late to dinner which resulted in a write up. She made sure to tell her cellmate that her crush was a bastard and then picked at her own food until her anger dwindled down.

The next week was fairly normal. Sleep, shower, eat, work, maybe some yard time, eat, shower, repeat. It wasn't until the last day of January that Roegan herself finally got the courage to corner Mills and ask him what his deal was. If he simply didn't like her or if he had a legitimate reason. His exact wording was…

“Are you stupid? You’re a filthy criminal, I could never be interested in someone like you. You women disgust me, you're in here because you broke the law and because you're scum to Saigon. Do you honestly think I could lower myself to touching let alone liking someone like you? Get real and get back to your cell inmate.”

His unveiling had been quite loud and Roegan was fairly popular among the other inmates. Karin heard Mills got jumped by the juggerbabes at dinner one night. She thought it funny. Roegan’s bounce back was a little slower but she eventually recovered. She simply said that she had been wrong and Officer Dayne Mills was not her winter flower. She would keep looking.

o.O.o

Kato sat at a round table surrounded by a few of his closest loved ones. His parents, Saigen Igarashi and Lady Brynn. His beloved uncles, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha Igarashi and his grandparents, InuTaisho and Irasue Igarashi. Also in presence was his most beloved student, Evanna Coburn, the King and Queen, James Deveraux and Hanna Corbay, the former King and Queen, Alec and Julia Deveraux, and the extended family, Trae and his wife Mandy Donziello. These fourteen people made up the elders council. A council of people who were veterans in their art and possessed some of the most skill known to man.

Today was June 18th, 2018. Karin was scheduled to be released in two months, August 12th to be exact and they had serious business to discuss. The restoration of Saigon had long since been completed and things were operating the way they had been before all the destruction. What they were discussing today was another portion of Karin’s sentence that she wasn't entirely aware of yet. She herself was sentenced to serve and protect Saigon with her being for the rest of eternity, but they weren't naïve. She alone couldn't do that. She would need assistance. They needed assistance. It had long since been realized that they couldn't keep shipping elders themselves off on missions because it left their world too vulnerable for their comfort. They were certain their people could protect themselves if need be, but it wasn't their responsibility . Aside from the council, the only warriors they had were their own children, Kato’s daughters, one of which was too young to be sent off on dangerous missions yet and one of which was preparing to go off to college. Trae and Mandy had a bounty of children. Karli, who was never biologically theirs and possessed no magic nor a genuine interest in learning it and now lived in Italy with her husband. Kessana, a valuable asset to them, powerful, merciless and smart. Next was Benito of whom they all called Benny. He was like his older sister, incredibly talented and willing to do whatever to protect the family. Then there was Benzie who was the same age as Kato’s youngest Kallisa, and finally Sydney who was still merely a toddler.

Troen Deveraux was the prince and next in line for the thrown. He was the fastest meta-human alive and had an incredible ability to change his bone structure to steel or stone. He had two twin sisters to his name, both younger. Too young to fight. That’s where the list of available and willing children ended. Next up on available warriors was Kagura and Kanna who worked quite well not only alone and with each other but with everyone else. The two of them had already come fairly strong but became only stronger over time and had proved quite valuable and impressive.

That’s where Karin came in. They had done quite a lot of digging into not only her past, but the past of people she had been associated with. To say they’d come up with a list of possibilities is an understatement.

“Alrighty,” Kato’s father Saigen chuckled, “I propose we begin the revival with the Uchiha clan, because let's fucking face it, they’re badass and underneath all the psychosis they have this insatiable desire to protect their family. And I mean, that's what we’re all about here right? Family!”

“While you have a point elder brother,” Uncle Sesshomaru chimed, “the Uchiha clan has a bad habit of refusing help from just anyone.”

“He’s right.” Kato nodded. “They’re also highly destructive and Karin, someone they all hardly know and don't care for isn't enough to keep them from exploding.”

“Hmph, well if Sesshomaru is against it, I'm for it. Bring the bastards back.” InuYasha laughed.

“For once in your life mutt, try and think like a logical adult.” The latter glared.

“That’s quite enough from you two.” Lady Brynn said gently in her thick and melodic, Scottish accent. “I vote that we do indeed resurrect the listed members of the Uchiha clan. We need strength and resilience. All of the people posses it, but they are key carriers to it. We’ll simply to have to find some form of leverage to use to..control them.”

“Right.” Hanna nodded. “All in favor of the Uchiha revival, say I.” A chorus of ‘I’s surfaced. 10 to 4, the Uchiha’s were coming back.

“Next, we were having a hard debate about bringing back Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I believe we settled against it because Karin had no immediate relation, she didn't know them, and it simply isn't right back a set of parents and tell me they can't have their kid.” Mandy announced.

“Bummer. Minato would have been amazing on my team.” Saigen sighed. The Yellow Flash and The Red Hot Habanero weren't coming back.

“The Akatsuki, in full force. We’ve already approved Itachi, Obito, and by default Madara’s return.” Evanna announced.

“Karin has another cousin in this group right?”

“Yep.”

“I vote yes then. We should at least leverage in some good for her, right?”

“For fuck’s sake, we can't just ‘yes’ it because we want Karin to be happy. Guys , remember. This is a group of highly elite criminals. Think about it!”

“Correction, this is a group of highly elite criminals who wanted world peace.”

“I call bullshit. It was like, what, 2 of them!? The leader and his girlfriend or whatever.”

“It’s three if you count the fact that the leader was technically two guys in one body.” Saigen nodded.

“Five if you count Obito and Madara.”

“We’re done with the Uchiha's!” Kato exclaimed feeling exasperated already. “They’re being revived, not another fucking word about them. Jeez.”

“Kallisa ate your pops cereal again didn't she?” Saigen whispered with pursed lips.

“Father, please.”

“Speaking of the two men in one body, say we do at least resurrect him, how would we go about that?” Evanna asked. “More descriptively, which one do we bring back?”

“Uhh, which one had the idea first?”

“Yahiko-San.”

“And problem solved.”

“Yeah, alright, but, Nagato did all the work. Yahiko was really just a driving factor.”

“Alright so Nagato then.”

“Why can we not compromise?” Evanna frowned. “Can we not join both their minds in Yahiko’s body since Nagato’s body was severely injured?”

“Alright I’m telling you all right now, if I ever find a best friend and like he dies, and I cripple myself to the point of no return for him and then you all decide to conjoin our minds into one body, his body, I'm gonna be particularly upset.” Saigen said in a serious tone.

“I love you, but son, how did you get an invitation to this adult meeting?”

“Can we please finish this meeting?” Trae sighed.

“We’re conjoining them into Yahiko’s body. I'll approve the revival of the entire Akatsuki, I feel like they could be easily swayed and I may have plans for some of them.” James stated. He was King so, his word trumped everyone else’s.

“Fucking finally. Okay, we’re gonna do a quick run through of a few individuals who could prove useful to us. Hashirama Seniu, Mito Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga, Tayuya, Indra Osatsūki.”

“Is he not a goddamn Uchiha?”

“Did you hear me say Uchiha?”

“He founded them though, right?”

“I need him. I have my own plans for these people.”

“Mito Uzumaki could teach Karin more than we could about her heritage and we need that. I vote yes on her.”

“Doesn’t Hashirama have a brother? Shouldn't we bring his brother back too?”

“Heavens no, if we put him and Madara in a room together, it's going to go to shit.”

“Well damn Saigen, from his track record it seems if we put him in a room with anyone it's gonna go to shit.”

“Yeah that's not my problem.” The eldest Igarashi brother shrugged.

“For the love of-“ Kato muttered underneath the abrupt laughter, “we’re all going to live for an eternity and we’ll still never have enough time to understand your bull.”

“I like being um, mysterious. I feel as though it adds to my character.”

“Oh dear, you already have such a big character.” Brynn smiled.

“How about, everyone that just got mentioned is getting approved. If they don't want a second chance at life, send em back, if they don't want to agree to our terms and regulations, send em back.” Hanna decided. “Sorry you all, but James and I have to make it to the Regan’s soccer game. Love you all, we’ll see you probably tomorrow.”

“Trae and I are coming with you guys. I can't believe we missed her last game.” Mandy said as the four of them began leaving. Pair by pair the crowd started to wither away until it was simply Kato, Evanna, and Saigen left.

“Do you think we made smart decisions today?” She asked with a hint of uncertainty in her usually cheery voice.

“Do we ever when all of us are involved ?” Kato shrugged.

“Don't be like that Kato, lighten up. I have a very strong feeling that everything is gonna be alright. Like Hanna said if it doesn't work, we’ll cut the cord. If it does, then great. Just think of all we have to gain from this. It’s about the safety of our people.”

“But are they safe?” Kato snapped. “Everyone on this fucking list has willfully murdered someone for either no reason at all or over trivial.”

“I believe we did the right thing.” Evanna decided. “The Shinobi was different than Saigon. They’ll have more time to just be people here, of course there will be the occasional mission that ends in bloodshed and maybe even a little regret, but at the end of the day I can guarantee they’ll be so much happier here. I know I am.” Kato eyed his student. Evanna, though he would never openly admit it because showing such love and care for someone in an open and public manner wasn't his thing and he always felt awkward just privately thinking it, but she was truly special to him. Left in his care by his first deceased daughter, she meant the whole world to him and her positivity never ceased to shed hope for him.

He snarled and pretended otherwise, but some part of him was sure she knew.

o.O.o

August 11th, 2018 had hit fast. Tomorrow Karin was getting released from prison and she couldn't have been more happy and scared and nervous and impatient. Roegan had been released months ago and she hadn't heard from the girl since. Granted, she wasn't allowed phone calls and visitors so it didn't surprise her but she often times wondered about her friend. She hoped she was okay. She truly missed their long nightly talks as well, but she guessed it didn't matter so much anymore because there was nothing she could do to change it now.

Kato had had his last visit with her last week where he unveiled to her the councils plan. She had been terrified and livid all at once when he told her who all was involved in this master revival. She was particularly more scared of Itachi Uchiha’s revival most of all. Maybe not scared, more guilty than anything. She had been right there with Sasuke, through all of his anger, anguish, and pain that he had experienced over his big brother and here she was about to live in the world with him when Sasuke still had to live without him. It wasn't fair.

She promised herself she would stay far away from the Uchiha’s.

She was curious about the resurrection of Mito and Nagato Uzumaki for obvious reasons and even a little excited for Hashirama, but everyone else just seemed stupid to her. They didn't know these people like she knew them and they didn't know what kind of trouble they were creating for themselves. But alas, she also knew by now just how stubborn Kato could be and he had already made up his mind so there was no going back now.

It was 8AM August 12th, Sunday morning when Officer Mills came to collect her from her cell. All her things were in her mesh bag that she’d received upon her arrival and everything else, well she didn't need it she figured.

He took her to be processed out and they made her strip down again and do that demoralizing bend and cough. They took her prison jumper and gave her a pair of black baggy pants, black slip ons, a white t shirt and a thin black jacket. Then they opened the gates and she walked out. Alone. It confused her at first, were they really just gonna let her leave like that? What if she ran away?

‘You’re free now idiot, they can't stop you.’ She thought. But she wasn't actually free and that became prevalent to her when a big black truck pulled up in front of her. The music inside the vehicle was loud and muffled, but it became clear to her when the door opened and an insanely tall man stepped out. Seriously, he was the tallest man she’d seen ever, even taller than Jugo and Jugo had been up there. As he came around the back of the vehicle Karin took in his appearance. He had to be at least 7 foot tall. He had incredibly long and beautiful sterling silver hair that was tied back in a high ponytail on his head with three breads at the crown.

He was wearing these beige shorts with lots of pockets on them and this black short sleeved button up shirt. His shoes were black like hers were, but they laced up and looked a lot nicer than hers. He pulled off the gold and black glasses from his eyes to expose the gorgeous amber eyes behind the frames and a black stripe on either cheek that she at first hadn't noticed. He was beautiful.

“Are you Kato’s big brother?” She asked immediately. He laughed at her. His voice was booming and it sent a shiver up and down her spine.

“No no!” He laughed. “I’m actually his father! Thank you for noticing the resemblance!”

“F-father!?! But, but you look!” The redhead gasped.

“Girl, you’ve been here for two years now and you’re still falling for physical appearances? I am old as shit doll face.” On one hand he had such a point, because Kato had probably 20 kids that she didn't know about and he looked 15, but still, she would never be quite used to it she didn't think. Kato…

“Hey, how many children does your son have? He won't tell me.” Again the man laughed and Karin melted a bit. Instead of answering her, he took her bag and tossed it in the backseat and held the door open for her to climb inside. He promised he’d tell her in due time though. So she climbed into the massive truck and settled in while he shut her door and climbed in on the other side with great ease.

Karin was used to dark black cloth material on the seats, but the material here was a deep grey leather. It was so smooth and so soft and her skin practically melted to it. The vehicle smelled of lavender and vanilla, two of her favorite scents and it brought a light smile to her face.

The man turned music down a considerable amount so that it wasn't banging in her ears. The dashboard was also covered in the nice leather, but it also had a smooth and shiny wood panel to it. The windows were clean and she could actually see through them because the panes were black on the inside like her usual transport cars were.

“I like your vehicle.” She declared.

“Thanks, it’s called an Escalade. Fancy ass truck for fancy ass people.” He grinned. “Oh and my name is Saigen by the way, thanks for asking!”

Karin was sure he was just joking, but it didn't stop her face from growing hot with embarrassment. She had been so caught up in his dashingly good looks and the comfort in the leather of these seats that she'd forgotten to introduce herself and get his name in return. Hearing it aloud though reminded her that she kind of already knew him. She’d simply mistaken him for someone else.

“Sorry, but I already knew your name.” She huffed. “I read a book about you. You ruled over the land of Scotland right?”

“Ah, so I did.” He nodded with a light chuckle. “How much did you read small one?”

Karin shrugged. “Kato just gave me a basic history book. Not much on your rule in it.” If she had been paying attention she would have noticed the way his shoulders relaxed and his body lost tension.

“Good enough!” He bellowed grinning again. “Well, Kato tells me your name is Karin. You’re a vicious little vandal, very opinionated, and you're really curious about my world!”

She nodded eagerly. Karin was more than curious, she was practically dying to experience it. She’d heard tales from some of the other inmates about how much they regretted giving up their freedom in the world. She yearned for it.

“Haha, all in due time Karin. Right now we need to get you settled in and registered as a citizen. Ya know, all that good stuff.”

“Settled in? Where am I gonna live? I don't have any money and I don't know anyone other than Kato…I don't wanna live with him and his kids.”

“Kid. Only one of his daughters remains in his house. The youngest one of course and her name is Kallisa. She’s 17 years old. She’s also the only biological child he has. Akasha, the “middle” child is the product of a past lover he had and her husband. Both of which are now dead and considering that this woman and Kato were extremely close, he was also present in Akasha’s life and therefore considers her a daughter. She visits a lot and sometimes sleeps there, but she started college last month and currently lives 3 hours away due to it. His first child, Brea, she passed away centuries ago. Kato found her in the Everglades as an orphaned baby and one of the last of their kind. He adopted her out of kindness and pity and raised her as his own flesh and blood.”

Less than 30 minutes in the car with this man and he’d already told her more than she thought she would know.

“I have trouble holding in secrets so like seriously, don't tell me anything you don't want the entirety of my family to know.” He said before laughing again with that infectious laugh of his.

“This is good,” she breathed, “does he have a girlfriend? What happened to his lover?”

“No girlfriend. He’s a total slut, but commitment is a rare thing for him. He’s only had two women in his life that I know for a fact he truly cared and loved enough to consider marrying. One was while I was deceased, but he’s told his mother all about her and subsequently she told me. Her name was Corin. She was a human woman he met while living in Scotland, they were madly in love…she passed. His last lover passed away 17 years ago. She died giving birth to Kallisa.”

“Wait, but if he’s only had two lovers and the last one died…oh my gosh, is Kallisa’s mother Akasha’s mother!?!” Karin squealed.

“Bingo bitch.” He smirked. She had never felt more like a giddy school girl, gossiping in a new Escalade with the hot guy about his son’s whorish ways. Maybe this wasn't how her school days actually went, but it felt like they should have been like this.

“So was her husband mad at her? Did they divorce?”

“Well, technically. He died of a heart attack when Akasha was three and Kato was there for her. They had a relationship prior to her being married, but Sariah was a seer right? And, in her family, she’s required to marry a man of her family’s choosing, a strong Egyptian man and bear him a child to continue their lineage. Well, her illustrious affair with my son caused a lot of family strife, but she knew where her loyalties were supposed to be and he understood she had an obligation so they remained friends. When Akasha was around five, their romantic relationship picked back up and Kallisa was born was Akasha was six. Akasha is 23 now and she and Kato are very close.”

“Okay, but you said their relationship made her family angry. What happened when they got back together?”

“Oh her mother was pissed, but Fatema and Kato have never really seen eye to eye from my understanding. She disowned Sariah for choosing lust over family. Sariah was heart broken, but she was a strong woman. She and her mother never got along so leaving the negativity behind was best for her. She was happier while ya know, it lasted.”

“Wow. I'm so glad I met you first.” Karin smiled. And she was. Saigen taught her more in less than an hour than Kato had in six months! Sneaky bastard. She looked to her right and couldn't help but to press her face against the window. It was unreal. There were so many other vehicles next to them and it gave her such anxiety. Some of them were going faster or getting left behind. Some of them were coming from places she didn't understand and some of the were leaving on paths that soon disappeared from her eyesight.

There were magnificent buildings all around, beautiful green grass and palm trees everywhere. The sun was bright and when the window rolled down she could feel and smell the illustrious air. It smelled so clean and fresh that it almost burned her nostrils.

“Can we stop? Please?” She asked anxiously.

“What like now? No, you don't wanna stop on a highway, that's dangerous. Do you have to pee?” He asked.

“No, I just, I have to feel this. I haven't been outside in the real world in two years. Yard time was nothing compared to this little taste of fresh air.”

“Oh I see, here, you can stand up and hang out of the sunroof if you want.” He offered. Karin didn't have a chance to question what a sunroof was before he pressed a button and part of the ceiling slid away. She undid her seatbelt and eyed Saigen suspiciously. He kept his eyes on the road but nodded encouragingly at her.

Karin stood up in her seat and poked her head out on the open space in the ceiling. It was amazing. The wind hit her hard and whipped her hair around. It made her eyes water and she found herself screaming with happiness and then laughing. She looked around at the other people in their vehicles, talking and laughing. Dancing to whatever music they were listening to, some were simply enjoying cruising along not paying her any attention and then there were some who were staring a little too much. It made her feel a little queasy.

Did they remember her? What she’d done? Her excitement was immediately replaced with guilt and she pulled herself back in.

“For a moment I thought you were gonna climb on the hood.” Saigen said cooly.

“Does everyone still hate me?” She blurted.

“What?”

“For what I did? Does everyone still hate me?”

“Oh? Jeez, well, it’s been two years and people have started to move on. One good thing about Saigon is that it's full of a bunch of people who realize that it's easier to just forgive rather than continuously hate and be angry because we all have to share this place for a very very long time. Of course, there are still some people who are hurting and haven't mastered the whole forgive and move along factor yet, but it's less than most. You’ll be fine Karin, and if you're ever worried, that's what we’re here for. All of us, we’re your family now and just like we protect each other, we’ll always protect you too.”

Karin was awestruck. For the first time since being here, she felt something coming from someone else. It wasn't disgust, it wasn't hatred, it was genuine care. And she didn't even need the stupid microchip out to feel it.

o.O.o

Saigen took Karin to a community building downtown. It was called Haven. The building was an apartment franchise owned by a man named Richard Beck. It was started to house orphans or teens an young adults that had nowhere to turn to after being abandoned and disowned by their families much like Richard was. Many of the residents here suffered the same fate after their families discovered they had been born with some kind of magical gift or another. They were shamed out of their homes and brought over to Saigon for protection and after growing out of age for a real orphanage they usually just moved into one of the Haven locations.

Richard Beck grew up to be wildly successful due to incredible determination to make his family regret their cruel decision to abandon him. With the use of his own money and generous government offerings, he was able to allow the Haven apartments to be very inexpensive. There was a set rent or $600 a month. All residents were required to have a job, not to ensure they could pay rent, but to ensure that they could survive on their own.

Karin was given a pamphlet that told her all the amenities that came with her room and the luxuries she was entitled to for living in Haven. They had community functions quite often and all residents were invited to come down and enjoy free food, games, and movies. Her room came furnished, she would have to get her own sheets and whatnot, but she was accredited a bed, a mattress, a living set, a washer and dryer and some furnishing for her clothes.

In regards to what she would wear, Saigen informed her that every month members from his team, their team, the Royal Militia, brought over a shit ton of freshly washed and cleaned clothes for the Havenettes to rifle through. The clothes were acquired through a cleaning project that they did. When hotels become overcome with tourists who simply never want to leave or have managed to trash the place to almost the point of no return the building gets shut down and everyone is evicted out. The Royal Militia has to go in and clean it all up as a charity project to help with the oncoming renovations. Underwear and socks get tossed. Shirts, pants, shorts, skirts, jackets, things of that nature get washed, washed, and washed again and then donated to several different Haven locations. Karin was in luck because this month it was her locations return to receive the goods.

Saigen left her with a girl from the desk named Harwin around noon and promised he would be back later to take her out to eat. Harwin took Karin to her room. She was living on the second floor. Harwin seemed like a decent girl. She didn't talk much, but she had an eccentric style. Her pastel green hair was cut boy short and her eyebrows were a deep black and very thick. Much like her eye makeup. Her face was freckled and her peachy skin was covered in lots of visible tattoos.

She was wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of ripped see through stockings with large chunky black boots. Harwin had a soft, but rough voice like she’d been dealing with an awful throat infection or like she was constantly sick.

“Do you have any questions kid?” Karin’s first instinct was to snap back that she wasn't a child and glare at the other woman, but she thought better of it when she remembered the possible age difference.

“Um, how many other people live here?” She shrugged. Harwin shrugged back and sighed.

“I don't know, like 130?”

“…are the people here…nice?” Karin muttered refusing to make eye contact. She hated asking, but she wanted to know what she was getting herself into.

“Nice? I don’t know, people are people. I mean, Saigon is full of genuinely nice people, we’re all surprisingly humane to not be human.”

“Right. I guess I don't have anymore questions then.”

“Sounds good to me. Here’s your keys.” Harwin said tossing a small set key at her. “Don't lost it, I hate making copies. If you need anything I live on the third floor room 96.”

Harwin left then, leaving Karin to tour her new home. It was quiet and despite the furniture in the apartment it felt empty. It was not bad looking though. Her living room was very open. Hardwood floors with a big black couch against the far wall in between two windows. There was a small, square table in front of the couch, two side tables on either end and a smaller back couch to her right. To the left was the kitchen. The kitchen has marble counters and high cabinets. The fridge was large and had stainless steel doors. There was a stand alone bar against a blank kitchen wall to the right of the stove.

Karin discovered two rooms in the apartment. They were the same size, both equipped with their own bathroom and had the same furnishings, the layout and a set of glass double doors leading to a balcony were the only differences. Karin of course chose the one with the balcony.

She contemplated going outside and breathing in more of the fresh air, but she decided against it and laid down on her bare mattress instead. She wished her journal could tell her what time it was because it felt like time was standing still.

She missed Saigen’s gossip and his presence and found herself getting more and more anxious waiting for his return. She was bored, she was hungry, she was…tired. She may as well just sleep.

o.O.o

After dropping Karin off at Haven, Saigen made the 25 minute drive to pick up Kagura who he’d promised to introduce to Karin. Ever since battling her Kagura had been wildly interested in the girl and she admittedly campaigned very hard for Karin's pardon. She always said that she didn't know why she cared about what happened to her, but she was convinced it was something about Karin’s eyes that won her over.

Kagura lived in Echelon, the state capital, with her older sister Kanna. Echelon was almost like an unreserved, but reserved city. Anyone could live there, but not just anyone lived there. It was mostly inhabited by the Royal Family and people who had familial ties to some kind of founder in their world. Anyone else that lived there was just a master of mastering finance and had become insanely rich enough to practically call themselves royalty.

He arrived at her house and obnoxiously blew the horn three times. The front door opened slowly and the short, dark haired woman made her exit alongside another short dark haired woman. Dannie. The two of them made their way to the truck, climbing inside. Dannie took the backseat and Kagura piled inside the passenger seat.

“Well well,” he gasped feigning surprise, “Daniella Donziello. I haven't seen you in years.” He had seen her approximately a week ago.

**“Yeah, I found a cooler dog to hang out with.”** She responded with quick hands. Dannie was mute. She wasn't born mute and she didn't have any life altering disease that made her mute, she just suffered a life altering trauma when she was younger that made her far too afraid to speak ever again. Learning sign language had been a challenge for Saigen considering it took a lot of time and focus and he had the attention span of a child, but eventually he all but mastered it.

“Sesshomaru is not cooler than me, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that.” He scoffed.

“Can we go?!” Kagura exclaimed impatiently. “I'm starving and I've been waiting two years to finally meet this girl, I refuse to wait any longer.”

“You’re gonna have to wait about another 30 minutes for the drive there asshole.”

“Why didn't you just bring her with you?”

“Because,” he shrugged, “she needed to settle in to her new home.” Kagura and Dannie exchanged looks with each other.

“But…she doesn't..own anything?”

“Yeah I realized that after I left, but my pride wouldn't let me go back.”

o.O.o

Karin was fast asleep when the three of them got there, but waking her up for food didn't turn out to be a problem. Kagura and Dannie introduced themselves and the four of them went to one of their favorite restaurants. Rubar.

Wonderful roasted aromas filled Karin’s nostrils and her mouth watered with anticipation. The prison food hadn't been terrible, but it wasn't something she would willingly choose to eat for the rest of her life. The food in Rubar however.

“What do you usually get here?” She asked Saigen after glancing at the menu once. She didn't recognize any of the items listed and figured it probably wasn't a Japanese based eatery. The pictures looked appealing though.

“I think you should get the Kofta burger with a side of Greek rice. There's like, spinach and lemon flavoring in it. It sounds strange but it's good.” The man assured her.

“Well what's the burger made out of?”

“Lamb.” The other red eyed woman said. “It's comes on flat bread smothered in a yogurt based sauce.”

“Hmph. Whatever, I'm starving, I’ll eat anything at this point.”

“So, Karin, where in Japan are you from?” Dannie signed. Karin was grateful for Kagura’s quick translation, because she’d never learned sign language before and if she hadn't thought twice about it she would've thought the woman was forming hand seals at her.

“I’ve lived in quite a few different places.” She responded. “I spent most of my days in a place called Otogakure though.”

“What’s it like there?” Kagura asked. “I’ve visited modern day Japan and I'm from Feudal Japan, talk about stark differences.”

“Hm, well we had Feudal Lords, but Kage’s were the more relevant rulers.”

“The hell is a Kage?” Saigen asked.

“She literally just said they were rulers.” Kagura responded.

**“But what kind? Ultimate rulers, do they have limited power? Were they dictators?"**

“Of course they had power Dannie, Shinobi clearly isn't a regular place.”

“He’s right.” Karin nodded. “The Kage’s were the strongest shinobi in their village. There were five Kage’s. The Raikage of Cloud. The Mizukage of Mist. The Kazekage of Sand. The Tsuchikage of Rock. And the Hokage of Leaf. One Kage for each major village.”

“I take it you weren't from a major village?” Kagura asked.

“No. Otogakure, the Sound Village, was newer and weren’t very liked. Our leader was a bit crazy.”

**“So you did have a dictator!”**

“No! Dammit Dannie, there's no dictators!” Saigen exclaimed causing an eye roll from the woman.

“Lord Orochimaru was an evil genius. He is an evil genius.” Well, he wasn't all that evil anymore, but still. Their conversation was interrupted for a brief moment as their waitress took their order and refilled drinks.

Karin took the pause to observe the crowd. Everyone in here looked so different but beautiful. And their fashion sense, there were some outfits that reminded her of Kato, some that reminded her of Saigen and then there were some outfits that were crazy. The room was full of uniqueness and individuality. It made her feel slightly out of place considering she was still dressed in the clothes she’d been given when she got out of prison.

“Karin?” Her attention snapped back to her table. “You good?” Kagura asked her.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” She admitted. “What am I gonna do outside of prison? I don't know anything and I highly doubt I have enough talent and skill to get a job here. I'm gonna be broke and starve and die.”

“Woah, hold on now. You’ve probably completely forgotten, but you're immortal now. Or at least, you will be as soon as we get that genetic microchip out of your arm. And secondly, how much skill do you think is required to get a job here?” Saigen asked.

“I don't know. Look at these people, look at this place, look at yourselves!” Kagura looked at her two friends, the restaurant, the people, and then herself. She came to the quick conclusion that Karin was just overwhelmed. In Kagura’s eyes, everyone looked completely normal, but she was no longer seeing it through the eyes of someone who was being thrown into the mix with no time to prepare for what it would be like. She was now seeing it through the eyes of someone who had been living it for going on eight years.

She had been through the confusion, the denial, the panic, the overwhelming, and even the dreadful lost feeling. Now she had accepted her life here and it wasn't nearly as awful as she thought it would be. She could only imagine how much harder it must’ve been for Karin.

“Hey,” she said with a slight smile, “I get it. I did this once too. It was scary and I had no idea what was gonna happen to me, but if I ever had the option to give it up and go back, I wouldn't even give it a second thought. You’ll be fine. It’s gonna be hard as fuck, I'm not even gonna lie to you. Some people here hate you and you’re gonna have to deal with that, but different shit happens and things change.

“We’re not just gonna force you to live here and not set you up for success. Right Sai?” The older man nodded.

“We’re giving you three months to really settle in and adjust before we start you on any training.” He told her as he began unveiling his master plan. First thing tomorrow morning, Kagura’s gonna help you find a job. Then you’re gonna meet up with our pal Troen, he works at the national bank. He’s gonna set you up an account and help work out a financial plan with you.”

“Right, then you’re gonna go shopping for some groceries and whatever else you might need.” Kagura interjected. “And don't worry, you’re not paying.”

**“Working here isn’t as hard as you would think either.” Saigen translated. “We all have pretty moderate jobs. Kagura is a store manager at a clothing and skate shop. Saigen owns a store that employs people looking for job experience and I teach self defense to children and teenagers.”**

Karin narrowed her eyes and looked at all of them. They seemed genuine. Their plan seemed solid enough. And their job titles relaxed her. When she looked at them she saw maybe movie stars and models. But a store manager, a store owner, and a self defense instructor. It at least made her wonder what she would be.

o.O.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saigen's nickname 'Sai' is not to be confused with the pronunciation of shinobi Sai. It was pronounced as 'Say'. In fact his name is general is pronounced as 'Say-gen'. 'Gen' like 'again' without the 'a'. I can't stress the pronunciation enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 5. I’ve been dealing with some major depression lately but I’m slowly coming out of my rough patch (I hope) so maybe i’ll be updating a little faster. 
> 
> Also, I had been writing this chapter for weeks and just..well I forgot to end it so it’s really fucking long. Sorry.

Chapter F.i.v.e:

The first thing that happened the next morning wasn’t exactly being taken on a job hunt by Kagura. Instead, the woman came over to drop off loads of clothes for the community. It was just like she was told. There weren’t many people in the lobby so it gave Karin an opportunity to really shop around. Kagura helped her pick out some tops and jeans, some spandex outfits. She collected two baskets worth of things before she decided to leave something for everyone else despite the fact that she was almost positive she needed it more.

Afterwards their job hunt began. The first place they went to was a mall. It was chock full of stores and the two of them went back and forth between places collecting applications and talking to managers. After the mall, they went to a bar called ‘Wassail’. Kagura loved going there to get plastered and make bad life choices. It made the top of Karin’s list for its loud music, dancing fiends, and care free environment.

The last place Kagura took Karin was to called ‘Espress Café.’ Apparently they made coffee and teas in this place and it smelled enticing. They also sold delicious looking pastries and sandwiches. The hiring manager’s name was Kale and he was very laid back. He also personally knew Kagura and therefore saw lots of ‘Barista potential’ in Karin.

She got to watch him make a few drinks and ultimately decided it looked easy and stressless enough that this would be her job while she got on her feet.

o.O.o

The national bank was the only bank in the country. They had smaller branches located in different cities, but this was the one that everyone in Saigon used. It was very heavily secured and if it wasn't for the stark beauty of it Karin would’ve thought she was back in prison.

Her appointment was on the top floor of the building with a man named Troen. A handsome man named Troen. Troen possessed soft caramel skin, fluffy and curly honey blonde hair and emerald green eyes that sparkled like stars. He had a smile that defeated all smiles and he smelled of cinnamon and citrus. A wonderful combination. He was only slightly taller than her so she got to examine his perfect features closely.

“Ya know, I’ve heard quite a bit about you, but no one ever told me you were this beautiful.” She was flattered to say the least. A small, very very small, part of her wanted to giggle and blush and maybe twirl a piece of her hair around her finger, but she refused to become that girl.

“Stop it,” she huffed crossing her arms, “you’re just saying that because you were probably told to.”

“Oh but contraire, I'm probably the biggest flirt you’ll ever meet, but at least I’m honest about my attraction to you, and you Karin, are very attractive.” He commented opening the door of his office for them.

“I'm in prison pajamas.” She retorted.

“Ya know, I noticed that, Kags, why didn't you let her change?”

“We were too busy talking, I got distracted.” She admitted. “She still got a job though!”

“Alright alright, let’s get down to business ladies because I'm sure you’re just dying to know how you’re gonna afford to live here.” Troen offered a seat to Karin and took the one across the desk from her. Kagura chose to sit on the edge of the desk next to him.

“So first off, congratulations on the job. Did you guys talk at all about a pay rate?”

“I get paid $15 an hour plus another dollar for every hour of overtime.” She said. Troen nodded and mumbled something as he started scribbling on a sheet of paper.

“Can I assume this is a part time or full time job?” He asked.

“What?” She asked.

“She’s gonna be full time.” Kagura told him.

“She still has to know the difference. Part time is just like usually around 10-15 hours a week whereas full time is 25.”

“How much will I have made in a month?” Karin asked.

“$1500 not including any possible overtime.” Troen said.

“Is that enough?”

“Maybe not in other countries, but here that's pretty solid for someone with very little financial responsibilities. After paying rent alone you’ll have $1100 left to take care of all your other financial responsibilities so you’re gonna have to be very fiscally responsible for a while so you can save up, but that's what I'm here for.

If you sacrifice indulging on luxuries and things then it's a proven fact that you can survive on $400 a month. Here in Saigon we pride ourselves on being ridiculously inexpensive despite whatever you may have already heard. We don't do preposterous things to our people like charge $5 for a box of macaroni and cheese. You could go grocery shopping and spend $100 on groceries and have enough to last you at least two months.

And when you get your microchip out, you’ll have less of a need to eat basic human food which means less groceries. Ah, you don't have to buy clothes and whatnot, we’ll take care of that by dropping off a few extra things for you here and there and-

“Wait wait wait. We? You’re apart of this whole thing too?”

“Well, yeah.” He said looking at Kagura. “I thought you knew that.”

“Nope. Just thought you were some nerdy banker.” Karin shrugged leading Kagura to burst out laughing.

“Wow, I have never been more insulted.” She wasn't sure if he was joking or not. “Actually, miss thang, I am not just the nerdy banker. I’m the Prince of Saigon girl.”

o.O.o

Troen was the only son of James and Hanna Deveraux, prince of Saigon. In his free time he worked as the national treasurer for the entire country for no other reason than he loved money, a lot, and he excelled at making, saving, distributing, and handling it.

It was just a side project for him as Kagura would say, he had another job, one that actually paid him, at Rubar. He was a chef there. Another high class, amazingly impressive and intimidating person with a regular job.

Karin was surprised at his lack of personal security. He was a prince for crying out loud and he walked around freely without any worry and fear that someone would try to maim him and take his throne. Obviously it meant he was strong enough to protect himself.

After leaving the bank feeling somewhat more confident in her ability to care for herself, Kagura was taking Karin shopping to get some things for her new home. Kagura was nowhere near as much of a gossip as Saigen was, but she was nice and she reminded Karin of her former self. The person she used to be before she was dragged here and had her life drastically changed. How she longed to be that person again.

“You said you were from Feudal right?” She questioned. Kagura smirked and chuckled to herself a little before confirming. “What were you?”

“Back in Feudal..I worked for some asshole named Naraku. He created me, so I guess you could say he was my father. Shitty excuse for a father though.” She explained.

“What do you mean he ‘created’ you?”

“Naraku was some pathetic excuse for a demon and he was only a half demon at that! He literally took a piece of himself and made me in a birthing tub. This was after he made my sister, named Kanna, you’ll meet her soon enough. She’s surprisingly always busy for someone who hates doing anything. Anyways, he made me a bunch of other like siblings but they kept dying or he kept reabsorbing them.”

“Woah, that sounds..disgusting, honestly.”

“He was disgusting. Ugh, I’ll never forget the first time I saw his true..incomplete form. I vomited for days.” Karin and Kagura grimaced.

“So you’re a demon? Like Kato and Saigen? I believe they’re…dogs?”

“I am a demon, but I'm a wind demon. Shit I am the fucking wind.” She grinned. “But yeah they’re dogs. Same as Sesshomaru and InuYasha and their parents…and Kato’s daughter Kallisa.”

“So you know this mysterious daughter too?”

“Kal-Chan? She’s like my little baby…only she’s taller than me. And she's definitely not a baby anymore. You’ll eventually meet her too. She stays quite busy as well.”

“I guess I can wait. Tell me Kagura, what exactly is Troen?”

“Troen is a lot of things. His father is a vampire and a warlock by blood. His mother is a witch by chance. He’s pretty much just a sum of that. All of us are pretty different. We’ve got lots of vamps in the group, mainly warlocks, of course there's the feudal demon squad and then there's some fairies and a seer or two.” Kagura pulled into the parking lot of the store Karin assumed they’d be shopping in. The two of them exited her car, which was smaller than Saigen’s but still pretty fancy. She had called it a Hummer.

“So what about Kanna?” She asked as they entered.

“Kanna’s not a wind demon. She’s…well she uses this mirror and it steals souls and she can create a mirror demon with it.”

“She sounds pretty strong.”

“Yeah, she's not a confrontationist, she couldn’t care much for it. Wanna hear something wicked?”

“I like wicked.” Karin nodded.

“So back in Feudal, I was created to help Naraku destroy Saigen’s younger brothers, mainly InuYasha. Ah man, lot of good fights in those days.”

“Wait,” Karin said stopping in her tracks. It had just occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, Kagura wasn't the person she had assumed. Some good spirited, no shit taking, defender of the world. “Kagura, were you..”

“The bad guy? Yeah. That was me. I eventually played both teams but my beginning agenda was not the most favorable one.”

“So you’ve killed people too I'm assuming?”

“I’ve done a lot of things that I regret and things that I also just accept happened. Some of those things include wiping out an entire pack of wolf demons save for like three guys.”

“Does it ever keep you up at night?” Kagura didn't answer her immediately. She slowly sorted through some sheets on a table.

“No,” she answered eventually, “it happened centuries ago and if I keep thinking about the shit I did wrong, I'm never gonna be able to live my life. That's what this is about. Being able to live my life.”

o.O.o

Kagura wound up spoiling Karin a bit, but Karin didn't object. She was used to Sasuke always buying her stuff when she needed it so it felt normal for Kagura to do it as well, and Kagura insisted anyways. She bought paint for the walls, she bought these cute string lights to put up somewhere, she bought these soft Egyptian cotton charcoal grey sheets and this fluffy white duvet blanket for her bed with lots of decorative pillows because that was a thing here.

She now had fluffy black towels in her bathroom along with lilac colored shag rugs and shower curtains. They didn't go grocery shopping because somehow Saigen told Kagura that he’d already taken care of it and he meant that literally. Her once empty cabinets were so full that the doors barely shut and the fridge was very delicately stuffed in such a way that she was unsure how she’d get the food out. In fact there were still some dry foods in bags on the counter that didn't have a spot along with a few cookbooks that he’d gotten her.

“Saigen is 7 foot tall and around 280 pounds of mass muscle. Food is a big thing for him.” Kagura explained setting the extra groceries on the stand alone bar. Kagura was staying over to cook for her and show her a few easy things she could make aside from instant ramen, rice, and eggs. They had taco pizzas that night.

They ate their pizzas on the floor of the living room while trading stories with each other to compare their pasts. Kagura hated her ‘father’, Karin never knew hers. Kagura was once a guinea pig in warfare, Karin was once a guinea pig in science. Kagura never had a mother, Karin lost hers. Kagura once had unrequited love, Karin once had a Sasuke.

For the first time since Roegan, Karin got to tell someone else about Sasuke and Suigetsu and Jugo. She got to tell Kagura about how she missed arguing with Suigetsu about every little small thing he did because everything he did was annoying. She got to talk about how she missed watching Jugo talk to the birds and squirrels whenever they camped out in the woods. She finally got to express how much she missed staying up late and talking to Sasuke. How much she missed sneaking into his sleeping bag and how sometimes on a rare occasion, when he was feeling either generous or just too tired to shove her away, he would let her sleep there.

“Pause. You snuck in his sleeping bag?” Kagura erupted into laughter.

“Don't fucking judge me!” Karin snapped feeling her face grow hot. Kagura fell back on the floor clutching her sides.

“But..wait, how often do you do this?!”

“I feel like if I tell you, you're just gonna laugh more.” She muttered cleaning her glasses on her shirt.

“Oh my gosh! You’ve obviously done this a lot!” The brunette exclaimed. Karin ignored her and placed her glasses back on her face adjusting them perfectly. “Well, since you did all this creeping, did you at least go for a ride on his joystick?” Kagura asked with her mood completely changed. She was no longer loudly laughing, but grinning with a sly smile on her face.

“What!?! Are you asking me if I had sex with Sasuke!!” Karin exclaimed unable to hide her own excited grin.

“Girl.”

“Kagura. I'm not that type of girl.” Karin had never slept with Sasuke, unfortunately. Despite all the times she tried and threw himself at him, he was always so focused on his own personal goals.

“Don't lie to me, you're hot and you’ve got this certain sex appeal about you. It's like you’ve got this sexy aura. A saura.”

“A saura? I have a saura?” Kagura nodded eagerly with pursed lips. “Well I mean, I’ve been with a few guys.”

“Define a feeeew.” The redhead was reluctant. She liked to keep her life in general private, but most definitely her sex life. But talking to Kagura was exciting. She’d never had female friends outside of Roegan and possibly one other girl and she wondered if this was what it was like all the time. Eating junk food, talking about your lives and your used to be crushes.

“Alright so, I was a warden for this prison right? There was this one guard named Genta. He was pretty hot, hunter green hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin. Genta had a thing for women with power and I held all the power.” Genta and Karin’s affair lasted only until she began her journey with Sasuke, mainly because she was leaving the prison and was positive Sasuke wouldn't let him tag along but also because she wanted to free herself for him.

After Genta getting laid was a miracle act that came quite rarely around Sasuke because of their vigorous schedule. She still felt some resentment towards herself for stooping so low that she let herself crawl into bed with Suigetsu.

“The guy you hated most on your team?”

“I don't know what's wrong with me, I was desperate.” She sighed. “Ya know, I'm glad you find amusement in my pain.”

“Yo I'm sorry, it's just hilarious.” She said wiping at her eyes. “Ya know, when I was living in feudal I had to make some pretty pathetic choices to get laid too. Not all demons are perfect and hot so there's a few regrets that I’ll be taking to my next grave with me.”

“Grave? Like, just figuratively speaking right?” Karin asked as she was under the impression that Kagura too was immortal.

“Not quite. I have the gift of longevity, but I'm not immortal. I chose not to go that route. I don't know why, I guess I just wanted to be able to have other options.”

“Hm. I see.” She was prepared to ask Kagura another deep life question when her device buzzed. Kagura called it a cell phone. She read the message quickly and then shoved it in her back pocket before stretching her arms.

“Alright, I gotta go. My sister kidnapped someone's dog and it's kinda turning into a big deal. Kato’s gonna swing by tomorrow and grab you for your chip removal right?”

“That's what he said.” Karin nodded. He’d transported into her room out of thin air with not a single warning last night scaring her half to death. All he said was to be ready to go get her chip removed Wednesday and then he disappeared again.

“Dude thank hell. Adapting here will be so much easier with your magic. I’ll catch up with you later, night Karin.”

“Night Kagura.”

o.O.o

Come Wednesday Kato had again transported into her room with no warning and scaring her. This time he scared her into a blind screaming rage and fell subject to the receiving end of a lecture about respecting someone's privacy. She wasn't entirely sure he was listening because he seemed really distant, more distant than usual and he didn't make any comments about it.

He went into her living room and sat himself on the couch while he waited for her to shower and dress so they could leave. After her shower, she made a mental note to herself to ask Kagura to take her shopping for panties because going commando was getting old.

She half expected Kato to just teleport them to the hospital, but she was mildly surprised to learn that he drove there and just popped in to avoid having to speak to anyone in the lobby. He called his car a Mustang and just like his soul, if he had one, it was entirely black.

On their car ride there she made sure to tease him about knowing the identity of not one, but all three of his children and also about his secret slut nature. He side eyed her and told her that slut shaming was not nice and that if he were a bastard child he would kill his father for having a broken faucet for a mouth.

A woman named Julia was doing her procedure and it very quick and very painless. A tiny incision on her arm was made and the godforsaken chip was gently tugged out with a small pair of clamps. The head rush was almost instant and she almost grateful to feel the familiar cold chill wash over her body as her skin iced over and her inner organs began shutting down. Then a painful craving that tightened her stomach and dried her throat out was next. She was thirsty.

The woman, Julia, supplied her with a tall cup of a thick dark red liquid. Blood. Enriched with all her iron and necessary nutrients and she shamelessly swallowed down every last drop before being happily fed another and another. It was tangy and elicited a rather pleasured groan from somewhere deep in her throat. Julia smiled delighted and Kato rolled his eyes and told her to slow down because other people needed to eat too. She gave him the finger.

Julia was yet another member to the Royal Family that Karin was meeting. She was the former Queen and by far the best medic their world had ever seen. She created half of their medical standards and worked diligently to perfect her craft. She reminded Karin of the pink haired kunoichi from Leaf. Sakura Haruno, was it? Yep. That’s the girl. The first female friend Karin had ever had.

Karin could clearly see the relation between Julia and Troen for they looked basically the same. Her hair was longer and slightly more golden but their eyes, smile, and upbeat positivity was the same to a T.

They left the hospital and Kato took her to a building he called the ‘Syndicate.’ She was required to fill out a mountain of paper work and after it was all processed she received a small plastic ID card with her picture, name, age, ‘species’, and address on it. On the second floor of the Syndicate he showed her a classroom where the Family often met to do lectures and lessons because that was a thing for them. Then he took her a massive room with rafter seats that overlooked what could pass for an autopsy stadium.

“This is where the master revival will take place. Tomorrow. You’ll officially meet everyone an-

“Including Kallisa?”

“….and we’ll all sit up there, while our medical team prepare the bodies and then we’ll all watch as they’re revived.” He sighed and shook his head. “And yes, my brat will be there.” The red head victory punched the air.

“Honestly, I don't know why I'm so obsessed with your kid. It's just so hard to believe. I wanna know what she looks like and if she’s as cold hearted as you.”

“We’re twins. From the points of our ears down to the stripes that wrap around our ankles. And she’s an awful person. If you’re expecting to make a friend out of her you're going to be sorely disappointed.”

“But Kagura said-

“Kagura is one of the biggest female assholes I have ever met and I would never take advice from her as she's drunk 99% of the time and has no idea what she's talking about.”

“I thought she seemed a little loopy last night. That's fine though. I like assholes. I'm still hanging around you aren't I?” Major eye roll. “So it's really happening isn't it? You guys are really bringing these people back to life?”

“That's the plan.” He said briefly. “The team in their free time has been working quickly to recover the corpses of our soon to be teammates.”

“You’re disturbing graves?!” She blanched.

“Terrible, I understand that. No one will ever know the bodies are gone. We’ve left their coffins and replaced the soil.”

“So wait, they’ve been to Shinobi?” She asked next in a much quieter voice. Kato nodded again.

“I also understand that it probably hurts to know that they’ve been given access to a place you're not allowed to go to anymore, but eventually it won't hurt anymore. It'll just be some place that you used to know.” He assured.

“Ha, yeah right.” She smirked not truly believing him. “You gonna chain that up too?”

They left the Syndicate quietly together, Kato drove her back to Haven and dropped her off in front of the building. He told her to be ready to go at 10AM tomorrow morning and then he left.

Karin got minimal sleep that night.

o.O.o

Resurgence. The ability to reawaken ones mortal being and give life to flushed out wounds with enough energy to heal them like new, untouched, unbranded skin. A power that was once embedded in a jewel in the palm of the hand of Greta Moore. An ancient relic in the history of Saigon.

In her time, Greta was a spiteful woman with short black pixie hair and hazel eyes. She lived alone near the oceans of all the lands, making a home in several of the caves along the shores. From time to time she would await the visits of young lovers passing by on what they thought would be a wonderful and romantic evening for the two of them. Little did they know that death was awaiting them in the shadows. She would hide away in the dark of her cave and leer at the happy people, waiting for their final kiss to be shared before using the dark magic of her jewel to steal the very life force from one of the pair leaving the other in despair and love lost agony.

She wasn’t always an evil love hating brute however. When she was younger, Greta had her own love. A woman by the name of Dahlia. Dahlia was a young muse who once walked the world whispering in the ears of the lost with a voice made of silk.

Greta came across the young muse in what should have been her final moments. Muse’s never lived long so after a few well spent years of giving advice and spiritual motivation it would make sense that one would begin withering away. There was something peculiar about this young muse however. Maybe it was the way her soft looking red hair framed the ground beneath her. Or the way her dull brown eyes called out to her. Greta could only imagine the life they once held in them.

Maybe it was purely selfish intentions that led Greta to reviving the woman, she’d never had a friend of her own and well Dahlia couldn’t exactly refuse her only savior. Still though, Greta liked to believe she was merely trying to help, like always. People were always happier when reunited with the ones they thought they’d never see again. Maybe Dahlia would be happier in life rather than death.

As luck would have it, she was. Dahlia was a gentle woman who laughed quite often. She was a beautiful and selfless soul. In her time with Dahlia, Greta learned more and more about the world, about the people in it and oh all the places they could travel. Whether or not falling in love with Greta was apart Dahlia’s plan, Greta would never know. But she did and Greta never thought her life could be more complete. More perfect.

And then Dahlia fell ill again. It all happened so fast, Greta barely had time to process it. The only thing she understood was that the love of her life was dying and she couldn’t save her. Her gift was limited and it was a painful realization.

Because fate was cruel and mocking shortly after Dahlia’s death, Greta found herself being asked to revive someone else’s loved one. Why? Why should she keep helping others be happy if she herself couldn’t even have happiness? No one deserved it. For years she went on in her grief consumed state, stealing other people’s happiness.

It wasn’t until a traveler that had heard of her corrupt doings came along. He never revealed himself to her, but it was made clear that his intention was to rid of her of the resurgence jewel, whether by force or cooperation on her part.

Killing someone who could endlessly heal themselves was difficult, but once the rock was pried from her palm her death was imminent. And the stone itself was shattered and the magic held within it vanished and for centuries went unseen and unused. It became just as much a relic in history as Greta herself. It was always suspected that maybe the gift of resurgence had found a home in someone new, but it was always just speculation.

o.O.o

Karin had read that chapter on Greta years ago while she was still in prison. The gift of resurgency seemed like a pretty sweet deal to her until the part about the limitations came in. Eternal immortality for you but a one time do over on life for your friends and loved ones. What if your friends were accident prone and died right after you just saved them? What if they fell ill like Dahlia had? What if their second death was more painful than their first?

Karin had her own speculations about that story. Like maybe it was Kato who killed Greta and shattered the stone because he seemed to spend a lot of time ruining other people’s plans in history. He of course denied these allegations, but she took a lot of what he said with a grain of salt.

She was sitting next to Kagura at the top right corner of the rafters above the autopsy stadium. Large TV’s hung in the corners displaying for everyone what was going on below. Daniela, or Dannie, was sitting on a small podium. A few women Karin had yet to meet were hooking lots of IVs to her. The other ends of the IVs were connected to several dozens of figures underneath white sheets. Karin quietly wondered which one was Itachi. She also wondered just what the hell they were doing to Dannie. She didn’t look scared per say, she just looked…indifferent.

“Dannie’s gonna be fine.” Kagura said as if reading Karin’s mind. “She does this kind of thing all the time….sort of. Not at this exact volume, but she’s alright.”

“What kind of thing is this?” She asked. Kagura just smirked and ensured Karin that she would see. Damn that woman. She tried to focus on something else. Like down below her, the girl with the pretty silvery blonde hair and pointed ears sitting in between Kato and Saigen. That was his daughter, Kallisa.

Karin had caught barely a glimpse of her face by the time she strolled in with her grandfather; but from what she did see she could tell Kallisa was gonna be another one of these annoyingly unrealistically beautiful people.

“Who are those women down there?” Karin asked.

“Well, you know Julia, but the woman with the short wavy dark hair is Maura. That’s Dannie’s mom. She’s not a doctor but she knows how to deal with her daughters gift.”

“I see.”

“The last woman, the taller one with the really long wild and curly dirty blonde hair, that’s Lady Brynn. Saigen‘s wife. She’s hot for like a reallllllllly old lady right?”

“Actually,” Karin said, “yeah.” She continued. Brynn looked kind and gentle with a thin layer of badass that covered her and made you realize that you shouldn’t take her kind eyes and generosity for granted. A layer that someone who married a man as intimidating as Saigen would probably be better off having. Then again, he was a giant teddy bear…

Julia nodded at Brynn and the woman nodded back before beginning to carefully pull the tops of the white sheets down to the subjects shoulders. Karin leaned forward in her seat. Her eyes widened slightly behind the frames of her glasses and it felt like Brynn couldn’t be moving any slower.

One by one they were revealed and once they were all revealed something happened to Dannie. A bright pink light shed from her eyes and her open mouth. The aura spread around her and pumped through her veins through the tubes and into the crippled veins of past enemies and unfamiliar faces.

“Kagura, is this what beauty is?” Kanna asked, speaking for the first time that day.

“Yes Kanna. This is beauty. Life is beauty.” Kagura confirmed for her sister. The pink rays and threads of life were indeed captivating even for Karin, but there were more than that as well.

“It’s resurgency.” She breathed. Dannie was resurgency.

o.O.o

The last two years in the Shinobi World had been…strange. Sasuke and Naruto were fine. Actually, they were…more than fine. The taller, dark haired male hadn’t returned to Leaf and reclaimed it as his home, but he had reclaimed Naruto into his life. And the remaining members of Taka were all but a thing of his past. Aside from Naruto, Sasuke had surrounded himself with nature and nothing but. He’d made the decision to cut his ties with Suigetsu and Jugo long ago and not look back. He stopped regretting that decision sometime last year and now it was just a thing he had done.

Naruto had been coined the seventh Hokage of the Hidden Leaf so his time spent with the blonde was more limited than it had been considering Naruto could no longer just vanish into the night to visit him and Sasuke hated stepping foot in the village so whenever he felt he could stand it enough he would go and stay with his friend, with his partner, for a few nights before returning to the forest to do whatever it was he was doing.

He didn’t speak to Sakura, he didn’t stop in and grace a ‘hello’ on Kakashi. Naruto and strictly Naruto. It was a routine for the two of them.

He would go a few months with only sending letters back and forth, then with no warning whatsoever he would enter the village come nightfall and break into Naruto’s home. Naruto was never there when he did this, Sasuke made sure of this. When Naruto did get home, they would stare at each other, maybe greet each other and then the blonde would latch onto him with an intensity that almost crushed Sasuke. Then they would engage in an almost savage but loving moment of sex, rinse, wash, and repeat.

This particular set up started shortly after they made up due to the whole ‘Karin’ factor. Sasuke had long before realized that his feelings for Naruto were more than just friendly, but he’d never acted on them due to several reasons, the distance between them, his drive to kill Naruto, Naruto’s lack of understanding, and the blonde’s annoying habit of trying to make him do things he didn’t want.

Things were different now however, Naruto fully understood his past pains and he accepted Sasuke’s flaws and the fact that he probably couldn’t fix them. Sasuke wasn’t trying to kill his best friend anymore and though the distance was still there both of them knew it wouldn’t be a cat and mouse game like it was years ago. Naruto still sometimes verbally wished Sasuke would permanently return but the raven realized he would have to give up on wanting Naruto to give up on that.

Naruto was waiting impatiently for Sasuke to arrive now, he’d summoned the man himself. The last two months he had been on edge after a dreadful discovery had been made. It wasn’t just Leaf that was worried. The other four major villages Kages were as well and Naruto needed to consult someone that wasn’t on his council because he was clueless now on what to do.

The center of his palm began to tingle and he knew the familiar feeling. Sasuke was here, finally. Instead of waiting for Sasuke to find him upstairs, he headed down to approach him himself.

“Sasuke.” He called out upon seeing the tell tale dark spiky hair of the Uchiha.

“Naruto.” He greeted back. “This better be important, I’m a busy man and I don’t have time to just pop over whenever you cry.” Naruto scoffed.

“Busy?” He repeated honestly confused. “What do you even- never mind. It is super important. I think I might be trouble.”

“Trouble? How so? What did you do?”

“It’s not what I did technically….it’s …do you remember that one guy from the Akatsuki? The one with the silver hair and violet eyes?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Never met him. I joined when there was no one left.”

“Damnit. Whatever it doesn’t matter. His name was Hidan and his partner was Kakuzu. Kakashi sensei, Ino-Chan, Shikamaru, Chouji and I all fought these guys years ago after Hidan killed Asuma-sensei. Hidan was like immortal or something so he couldn’t be killed, so Shikamaru set a trap for him in the Nara forest and wound up burying him there.”

“Alright? And the problem?” Sasuke said. Naruto could hear the annoyance in his voice.

“He was never supposed to get out of there. He was blown to bits, but…two months ago…something happened. He disappeared.”

“He..disappeared? You think someone dug him up?”

“We know it. The rest of the council started to get worried and they ordered the bodies of the rest of the remaining Akatsuki to be dug up and confirmed as ‘present’ or whatever.” Sasuke didn’t need Naruto to finish his story to know that the bodies weren’t there. It was obvious by the look on his face.

“So you’re telling me. All the bodies of the Akatsuki that weren’t already used in the war are missing? Hidan…his partner? The women as well?”

“Well, not Kakuzu because he was in the war, but yes, Konan and Kaori are missing too.”

“And you think someone is going to resurrect them?”

“Yes…we um, well I was wondering if you knew what Kabuto and Orochimaru had been up to lately?” Sasuke cut his eyes sharply at Naruto.

“I haven’t spoken to them since she died and you know that.”

“Maybe you could pop in and see what they’ve been up to?”

“Naruto.”

“Sasuke, please! I don’t have time for you to be anti-social or anti-Konoha! Shikamaru got fired for this! I’ve kept it from the villagers as long as possible but people are starting to talk! They’re scared and the other Kages are looking at me for answers that I don’t have! I don’t ask you for much Sasuke but I’m asking you now to help me! I just need you to talk to them. Talk to your old team and find out if they know anything.”

“Do you honestly think it’s gonna be that easy Naruto? I left them, I completely abandoned Taka without a reason and you think they’re gonna willingly help me just because I ask?”

“Try asking nicely.” Naruto shrugged. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his boyfriend.

“You’re impossible. People like Taka, don’t like being abandoned. I’ll see what I can do, but don’t hold your breath.”

o.O.o

Sasuke had suspected that he wouldn’t find Taka at their old hideout, but he did find them quite close. He was alert and well prepared to defend himself by any means necessary if he had to. His old friends were wild and spontaneous, there was no telling how this reunion would go.

Infiltrating the hideout had been easy enough. He still knew Orochimaru well enough to dodge any of the traps laid out to catch intruders. The rooms were all empty for the most part. Orochimaru would probably be in the lab, Sasuke just had to find his way down there without getting caught.

That was when he felt the spark of a familiar calm chakra, cool like ice and completely mellowed out. Jugo, and Suigetsu was close by. If anyone knew where the lab was, it was probably those two. He concealed his chakra and crept quietly down the hall to where he last sensed them. The kitchen of course. Their voices were muffled out at first but as the distance between the three of them closed their conversation became clearer. Suigetsu was doing all the talking which wasn’t uncommon. Something about an old woman he met and how he used her sight disability to mooch off her.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Jugo chastised the white haired male but didn’t make a bigger fuss out of something he knew Suigetsu would do again in the blink of an eye.

“Ya know what I find most annoying Jugo?”

“Everything?”

“Yes Jugo, everything annoys me, but I’m referring to thing that annoys or should I say ‘annoyed’ me as in past tense cause it or rather they aren’t here anymore.” He smirked.

“Suigetsu…you’re not talking about K-“

“Karin? Ha, hell no. I’m done harping on her. Someone even more annoying than her though, Sasuke Uchiha. Ya remember? That one whiny bastard who used us and nearly got us killed on multiple occasions to take vengeance on his innocent brother and then took off just cause his girlfriend died?”

“Well, I don’t think they were ever a thing, but I guess I can’t disagree with the rest of your statement.” Jugo sighed. “He did leave rather abruptly.”

“Yeah, its cause he’s an asshole, aren’t you listening?”

“Suigetsu, I’d rather not talk about this.”

“Oh don’t tell me you’re still loyal to that piece of shit? Ya saw how easily he gave up on us didn’t you? Sasuke Uchiha never gave a damn about you or me or Karin!”

Jugo only blinked as the familiar lightning blade cut through the wall and impaled his friend causing him to liquefy. He released a heavy sigh and gathered a canister to hold him in.

“Forgive him Sasuke, we saw you enter the building earlier, Suigetsu thought this would be funny. I tried talking him out of it.”

Sasuke revealed himself from the shadows, frown in place. “Well it wasn’t.” He hissed. “It was stupid. I could’ve killed you both. And what the hell do you mean you ‘saw me?’”

“The cameras. Now that Karin is gone, none of us are good at sensory so we had cameras put in.”

“Hmph, right.” He hadn’t expected them having cameras. He didn’t think they were that …thoughtful.

“Why have you come back Sasuke?”

“I need a favor Jugo. I need you to take me to Orochimaru. Is he here?”

“No.” Jugo said. “Orochimaru has his own private hideout, it’s not all that close, but we do know where it is.”

“Do you know what he’s doing there?” Sasuke pressed.

“Last I knew he was just trying to be normal. He still does experiments, but they’re a drastic step down from his old criminal behavior. He’s converting his science into medicine. He’s quite good at it to be honest. Already helped a lot of people.”

“And that’s it? That’s all he’s doing?”

“Well…he’s also tying to establish Sound as a village again, but the other villages are worried about bestowing that kind of power in his hands. I suppose that’s understandable though.”

“I see. Jugo, would you be willing to take me to him? I have a few questions to ask him.”

“Of course Sasuke, let me just regenerate Suigetsu first.”

o.O.o

After Suigetsu had his own legs back the three of them started off on their journey to Orochimaru’s lair. Suigetsu had a million and one questions for Sasuke. Where had he been? Did he do anything fun? Had he seen his friend Naruto? Made up a new team?” Sasuke didn’t answer any of his questions so Suigetsu made up answers for himself.

Sasuke stayed behind them for the entirety of their journey. He was slightly paranoid that they were setting him up for a trap, but he made it to his old mentors hide away in one piece. Kabuto wasn’t there, but Orochimaru was and he was elated to see his favorite student. He also didn’t mind seeing Jugo and Suigetsu again.

It was strange, seeing Orochimaru so…nice. He offered food and drinks and even a room for them to rest. Suigetsu jumped at the chance to lay down and sleep, but Jugo was willing to stay by Sasuke for as long as he could.

“I have to ask you something and I don’t have time for riddles or jokes. I just need a straightforward answer from you.”

“Oh but Sasuke dear, it’s late and you look famished. Why don’t you save all the questions until tomorrow morning. By then I’ll have found some clean clothes for you and you’ll have been well rested.”

“No. I don’t have time to wait. I need answers now.”

“I see.” The older man nodded. “Right then, since you’re so impatient. What is it that I can do for you?”

“There’s a few people missing. Dead people. Former Akatsuki members. I need you to tell me you had nothing to do with it.”

“Alright then, I had nothing to do with it.” The man smiled.

“Don’t be a smart ass Orochimaru.”

“Forgive me Sasuke-kun. Just trying to shed a little light on your sour mood. I can promise you that I had no hand in whatever is going on with those bodies. I am however very curious to the situation that you speak of. Who all is missing?”

“One named Hidan. Konan, and the other woman they adopted, Kaori Miashi.”

“Miashi as well? Hm, I wouldn’t worry yourself too much about this Hidan fellow, but Konan and Miashi can be a bit of a handful. Though she appeared gentle and sweet, Konan was rather ruthless when she needed to be. And Kaori Miashi, we were only acquainted for a short time before I left the Akatsuki, but she was just as powerful as she portrayed herself to be. Quite the ticking time bomb that one was.”

“If you had nothing to do with it, then that only leaves Kabuto. Where is he?”

“Kabuto? I’m afraid it couldn’t have been Kabuto. He’s dead. Has been for at least a year now.”

If Sasuke had ever cared about Kabuto he would have asked how or why but the older man was never on Sasuke’s better side so he let it be. At least he knew Taka and his mentor were exonerated from these events. But now he had to return to Naruto empty handed.

“Do you know anyone who’s studying them? Anyone who comes off as obsessed with them?”

“To be truthful Sasuke,” Jugo intervened, “the world has been quite peaceful since the war ended. The villages are getting along, the crime rate has dropped phenomenally, everything was going great.. until you brought this up.”

“I’m just trying to get to the bottom of what could be something disastrous for all of us.”

“Hmm, when you say ‘all of us’ do you mean us or the Shinobi world in general.”

Orochimaru wasn’t an idiot. He must have caught on to the fact that he at least would be going down for this if anything. It would make sense for them to place blame on someone like Orochimaru anyways.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen. Don’t be surprised if Leaf attempts to pin this on you. They’ve already fired the Hokage’s personal advisor for suspicion.”

“Thank you for the warning I suppose. My offer for you to sleep here is still on the table if you’d like. I myself am turning in, I’m going to need to be refreshed when I head out tomorrow.”

“Head out? And where exactly are you going?” Sasuke asked Orochimaru’s retreating back.

“I’ve done quite a bit of good here and I’m proud of my work. Nevertheless, the elders of the Leaf won’t see it that way. They’ll find some way to undermine and twist. I refuse to be subjected to punishment for a mess I didn’t create. In other words, I’m moving on. Away from here. Jugo, I do hope you understand that you and Suigetsu won’t be able to know of my whereabouts until all this blows over. You’ll be on your own.”

“Yes Lord Orochimaru, I understand. I’ll let Suigetsu know. I’ll take Sasuke to his room.” The pale skinned snake nodded and made his retreat to his own room. Jugo started down another hall and Sasuke followed. It was the least he could do since Jugo was kind enough to help him. Not to mention it would be nice to sleep on a real bed. Jugo sat on the floor against a wall quietly with his eyes shut. It was quite shocking to Sasuke to see that he was still so subservient.

He was too tired to deal with it tonight however. The next morning though when Jugo was still there, completely unmoved Sasuke was annoyed.

“Jugo, what are you doing?” He sighed.

“What?”

“Why are you here? Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Well…why shouldn’t I be?” Jugo asked back.

“You’re kidding, right? I may not like what the idiot said, but Suigetsu is right. I abandoned you two. I didn’t even say bye I just left. So why the fuck are you acting like I’m your best friend?”

“Well,” Jugo said, “because you are. You, Suigetsu, and..Karin. You three are my best friends. Kimimaro too of course, but he isn’t exactly here now.” The big man stood up and approached Sasuke. He stood in front of him and smiled small at the Uchiha. “Sasuke, you’ve never been one for many words and you’ve also never been one to share every move you make with everyone around you. What happened to us years ago affected all of us differently. You had your own way of dealing with it just like we did and I’ve accepted that. I’m fine with it.

Taka. We’re a family, whether we always admit to it or not. When push comes to shove, I know without a doubt, you’ll be there, the same way Suigetsu and I will be there for you. I never doubted you and I never will.”

o.O.o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors, I proofread and fixed what I caught. New characters coming in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Akatsuki centric.

Chapter S.i.x: Will You or Won’t You Stay With Me?

Kaori Miashi joined the Akatsuki when she was 17. She had been found by one Itachi Uchiha, broken and dying and for some reason he had shed pity upon her and brought her back for healing.

She was a Tsugakure nin and the leaders of Akatsuki took great interest in her being. Tsu ninja were hard to come across because their entire village was hidden by a chakra infused shield. After the second Shinobi war, their people had decided that they were safer not partaking in the foolishness of the rest of the world and so they closed themselves away from the rest of civilization and began forming their own way of the world.

Kaori’s life had been moderately normal for the most part. She was a young genin striving to become the next greatest ninja in her clan. She had to beat her beloved Uncle Shiori Miashi to achieve that title first, but she worked hard at her goal. Her family was one of small prestige, they held ancient power within their walls, but they were a very conservative group, unlike their ancestors, and many of their once electrifying practices were locked away in chakra sealed scrolls and taught never to be used again.

She was a small girl, smaller than most so her pace was slightly slower than most other students, but Kaori was never deferred from her dream. Her younger sister, Ayame, looked up to her and the two of them often spent time together outside of Kaori’s training. It wasn’t until Kaori turned 14 that her life flipped inside out.

Her uncle had been accused of treason and attempted murder against the Kikage. For his crimes, he was executed. Kaori never believed her uncle to be guilty and she was certain he wasn’t. Her uncle had always been an honest man and he loved his village and the people in it more than his own life. He was killed for trying to protect the people and she was certain of that. She couldn’t let his death go unavenged.

Her next three years were spent growing distant from her family, training herself til the point of critical exhaustion and eventually cracking open the seals to those deadly family jutsu.

The Miashi clan would never forget the day they received a cold knock on their door informing them of the Kikage’s death and Kaori’s new criminal status. Kaori herself would never forget the day years later that she learned of her clans execution as punishment for her treason.

She wanted the world to know of the crooked ways of Tsugakure. No longer were they the peaceful village that strayed away from warfare and death. They were a capital of malice and deceit. However, somewhere along her rode to redemption and her journey with the Akatsuki she lost sight of what she originally sought out to do. The moment she crossed paths with Naruto Uzumaki she knew her fate was sealed and she had unfortunately remembered a little too late what her purpose was as she’d already lain the battle in his hands and accepted her death with a smile. At least she didn’t have to fight anymore.

o.O.o

Konan had been very shocked when she woke up on the cold metal table, and she had been even more shocked when a familiar pain surged through her midsection. It felt like she was dying all over again only when the pain finally subsided, she was still alive. She was very alive. Her body was exhausted and she wasn’t sure what was keeping her from falling asleep at that very moment, but she stayed awake and she observed what was going on around her. Yelling. Someone was yelling. A man. A man was yelling. Slowly but surely his yelling dwindled down to incoherent grunts and moans and finally he was silent.

There were people all around her. Some of them were slowly forming and healing from death wounds and some of them were perfectly healed and just lying there. There was one person in particular that she allowed her tired amber eyes to linger on. The one with the orange hair and piercings throughout his face. Pein.

She was dreaming. She was dead but she was dreaming. She knew this because Pein was dead. Yahiko and Nagato were dead and there was no possible way she was seeing them together like this. Not again. But there they were, both of them, looking back at her through shared vision.

She moved her mouth to call his name but she wasn’t sure if the words came out. If they did, he disregarded them or didn’t hear them because he remained silent. Blinking at her quietly.

She felt a cool hand on her bare shoulder and she strained her neck to look at the person violating her personal space. A woman with long blonde hair. It was wild and curled with a few stray braids. Her eyes were a soft shade of brown and she was smiling at Konan.

“Can you hear me? How do you feel?” Konan could hear her and she felt…fine. But she didn’t say this. The woman gently pried her eyelids open farther and shined a bright light in her eyes. “Her pupils are dilated, but slowly returning to normal Julia.”

Whoever Julia was didn’t say anything. The woman removed the light and pressed two fingers against Konan’s wrist. “Her pulse is slow, that’s to be expected.”

“His heart rate is picking up quicker than I expected!” Someone exclaimed from somewhere else in the room.

“You..are Konan, yes? Do you remember that. Blink once for yes and twice for no.” Konan was slow to obey but she blinked once. “Good.” The woman smiled.

“I am Lady Brynn, you may be Brynn. I’ll be taking care of you until you’re ready to be back up on your feet. Mkay? Rest well my dear.” Brynn nodded cheerfully at Konan and then moved on to someone else.

‘I’m not dead.’ Konan thought to herself. ‘How am I alive? I’m alive. I’m alive.’ She repeated in her mind. If she was alive then this meant that Pein was alive too, right? She smiled. She was alive.

o.O.o

Two months ago Madara was confined to a hospital bed while he slowly recovered from being resurrected…again. It had been one of the most confusing endeavors in his life. When he awoke he thought, maybe there was another war going on in the Shinobi world and it would again be his chance to rule the world the way he wanted it to be ruled.

No, instead there was some large silver haired man grinning in his face. This man who referred to himself as Saigen Igarashi, former Lord of the Western Lands and also former King of Scotland turned husband, father, and apparently now Madara’s new best friend.

He begged to differ, he had only ever had one best friend and in that best friend he found his worst enemy. There were nothing other relationship options that he had to offer people. The man was determined however to woo a friendship out of Madara. He volunteered himself as Madara’s ‘adjustment guide.’ While he and the other recycled shinobi were just getting started in this new world, Saigen became his personal guide. He bought him his first round of living essentials, he taught Madara how to drive and he even allowed him to move into his guest room until the Uchiha had established his own living space.

The man’s wife seemed to take some pity on him. Every now and then she would flash Madara a small sum pathetic smile whenever her husband did something that obviously irritated him. Brynn was truthfully quite pleasant to be around. She gave Madara his space when he wanted it and she was a wonderful cook. She reminded him of Mito Uzumaki in a way. The way she held herself, refined with elegance and poise but never to be underestimated. A strong woman who knew when to say ‘no’ or ‘enough is enough’, but also had a gentle side perfect for caring and loving her significant other.

For anyone who hadn’t been forced to live with them, they would seem like an odd fit for each other. Complete polar opposites to be exact. Quiet, respectful, pleasant. Loud, egocentric, wild. But Madara realized somewhere along the road that they complimented each other quite well. And in his approximate two months of being ‘confined’ there the two of them were slowly becoming a small piece of normalcy in his new life. Wake up and shower. Saigen has breakfast made for the three of them. They eat. Brynn works on her garden or visits their son who lives a few doors down. Saigen occasionally collects Madara and they tour the city or meet up with a few of the other recycled Shinobi. Brynn has dinner by the time they get back. They eat. Saigen talks Madara’s head off for hours on end before Madara either just walks away or Saigen tires himself out. Rinse, wash, and repeat. However, there are the few rare times where maybe no one makes breakfast because they’re busy. Maybe Brynn doesn’t work on her garden and she doesn’t visit their son. Saigen won’t take Madara anywhere because he isn’t there and dinner isn’t a nice home cooked meal.

It’s on those nights that Madara is confused and agitated with nothing to do. If he could go back to the Shinobi world he would because at least there he wasn’t in a constant state of lost and confusion. It wasn’t that the two of them left him without resources. He was also left with keys to one of the cars, a list of phone numbers to dial in case of emergency, and in case he had forgotten, clear detailed instructions on how to work the movies or TV. So there was plenty to do, but it didn’t exact appeal to him. He had tried leaving the house one day and going for a walk on his own, but he got lost and after being taunted and teased by Saigen for two hours he swore to never leave again. Madara Uchiha was bored and he needed to find a hobby. One that he didn’t have to leave the house to achieve.

o.O.o

He had told her that art was an explosion. It was something that was supposed to be there one minute and then gone the next and the beauty of it lived on in memory. She understood his theory on art, but she had her own disagreements. She felt art should be infinite. Sure the memories were nice, but what happened if you didn’t have an eternal memory bank and then your memories started fading. What happened when you started to forget the beauty?

He questioned her logic and posed the question, ‘what if you lose your art, hm? What if it all gets ruined? What happens to your precious art then?’

She explained that art didn’t have to be confined to a bunch of lines on a paper canvas. As a matter of fact, she liked to think of herself as the canvas. Surely her body was more sustainable than a piece of paper. People were the masterpieces in the world.

He was still 100 percent certain that his depiction of art was better than hers, but he could kindly admit that he respected her choice of art form, even if only a little. It was different. Most people from his era didn’t get tattoos because they liked them or because they thought they were beautiful. They were done as a sign of commitment to your village or another cause that you believed in.

She had only gotten started turning herself into a masterpiece so she didn’t have many, but the ones she did have were impressive. The one on her left calf was her favorite. It was a depiction of a woman with deep brown skin and big chocolate eyes. The woman was dressed in a kind of traditional ensemble with a bejeweled crown upon her head. Large gem like earrings hung from her ears and around her chest was what looked like an oversized necklace. She called them ‘wesekhs’ and said they were common in the ancient times of her culture. The woman was beautiful but she looked sad almost. Like she was missing something in her life.

“The woman is my mother. And she’s missing me.” That’s what she had said about the woman’s sadness. He then asked her why she chose a place she couldn’t see to place her artwork.

“I know what her beauty looks like, this is for all the people who were unfortunate enough to have not seen it….and I mean if I really wanted to I could see it. I’m a gymnast, so, pretty flexible.”

Kallisa had looked nothing like her mother. Not in hair, not in skin, not even in her eyes did he find a resemblance. Her fathers genetics were a thousand times stronger. She had her fathers amber eyes and his thick lightly colored hair. He had passed along his strong facial features. His structured jaw and pointed ears. She took his height and even picked up on his accent. Her skin was not as dark as her mother’s but it wasn’t as pale as her fathers. Slight sun kissed, but still pale enough to pass as white. She told him that it frustrated her being so in between and out.

The only thing she could say her mother gave her was life and shape being that she was curvy and she definitely didn’t inherit that her father. She envied her older sister a lot. She wanted the beautiful dark hair that kinked up when wet. She wanted the beautiful dark skin that looked so good in yellow whereas she couldn’t wear yellow without looking dreadfully ill. She wanted the pretty brown eyes and the tiny ears. She wanted to be able to look in a mirror and fully see her mother’s work in her the way her sister could.

She told herself that it was her punishment along with a thousand other punishments. She didn’t deserve to look as beautiful as the mother she’d killed. So she would resemble her father and live with that.

Deidara thought Kallisa was beautiful. She was exotic and it worked for her. Despite her own insecurities he thought every piece of her worked in her favor. He liked her hair and it’s wild nature. Her pointed ears that she’d decorated with piercings and gauges were cute and complimentary to her face. Her amber eyes kind of reminded him of Konan but despite living with her for years he hardly knew that woman, so he instinctively liked them better on Kallisa.

The girl was vastly different to what he was accustomed to and it felt nice. It grew exhausting encountering the same type of people, the same type of women day in and day out. It made life boring and it was never worth living if everything around you was boring. And since he couldn’t dabble in his own form of art for the time being, he would settle for his new found artistic interest. But only for a little.

o.O.o

The Uchiha family as a whole had been rather difficult to deal with. There was no method to the madness of how and why they were all brought back and getting them to agree to staying was trying. Mikoto Uchiha was revived during grief and cried for days over the loss of her youngest. It wasn’t until Itachi was delivered to her that she finally stopped sobbing and focused more on trying to be as close to him as possible. Fugaku Uchiha was brought back in a sour mood. He hated dying but he had accepted death and now his death was disturbed. He didn’t know his point or purpose here and he wasn’t all that interested in learning it. It was only his wife’s new found happiness that made him more attuned to the idea of staying in Saigon.

Madara Uchiha had been promised power and eventually eternal life and that was all he needed to hear to agree. He didn’t agree so much with staying in the home of the eldest Igarashi child’s home, but it came with the territory apparently. Shisui Uchiha was depressed when he returned and though he looked and acted like he wanted to die, he never outwardly said ‘send me back’ so they kept him and placed him in therapy to hopefully help him recover. Obito Uchiha was a little depressed as well, but not like Shisui. He had an easy fix for his dilemma and that fix was a woman named Rin.

They negotiated and decided that once Dannie was finished recovering from her last round of resurrections they would see what she could do for him. Indra Ōtsutsuki, though he was on the list to be returned was not brought back. Something about Saigen and some sneaky plan that really only benefited himself.

The most difficult Uchiha by far was Itachi. In every was possible was his resurrection difficult. Turns out several of these ‘recycled shinobis’ were used in a war years before and brought back to life once already. Karin explained to them that after the jutsu was broken, the reanimated bodies were destroyed. Instead of turning away from those who lost their mortal bodies, instead they used the same forbidden spell that Troen had used to save Karin and revive his mother.

They sought out other shinobi or commoners who were close enough to death to no longer care what happened to them and they performed a soul conversion. Calling the dead souls from wherever they rested and sealing them in these donated bodies where they would wait to be awaken.

Coaxing Itachi’s soul was hard enough. Getting him to agree to live in Saigon was a whole other challenge. Itachi felt he had no place in their world. He had lived once and a half and served his purpose in life. His purpose was to protect and always love Sasuke at all costs, the cost being his life and he had done that. He was confident that in his last exchange with he had done just that.

He wasn’t interested in material things and unlike his cousin, a woman wasn’t going to be able to mend him. Not even his mother’s pleading was enough to convince him that his life here would be worth while. There was only one thing he would accept in return for life and that was his brother.

“Completely off the table.” Kato said firmly.

“Unfortunately, your brothers history is..quite explosive. He’s an unstable person and we can’t guarantee that he’ll-

“Sasuke’s behavior is my fault. I forced him to live his life alone and tormented him. His mental and emotional instability is my fault.”

“Your abusers abuse doesn’t give them the right to abuse you.” The man said. “Your abuse of Sasuke doesn’t give him the right to abuse others..the village itself included.”

“I’ve seen the others. You have a mass army at your side now, surely the absence of one little person won’t ruin everything you hope to achieve.”

The rest of the negotiation flowed back and forth for the next hour before Kato dudes he and Evanna would retire for the night. He went to his father since this was his idea and told him it was now his job to get the Uchiha onboard. Saigen decided to take the matter to Karin.

“Why me? Of all fucking people?” She scowled.

“Because I need leverage. You were like besties with his brother. There’s gotta be something you can pull out of your ass to get him on our side.”

“Nope.” The redhead said as she whipped a pair of jeans in front of her hoping to get out the wrinkles without the use of an iron. “I know Itachi loves Sasuke and Sasuke loves Itachi. That’s it. Find someone else.”

“Wow!” Saigen exclaimed. “Ya know, the more comfortable you get here, the more mean you get.”

Since Karin couldn’t help, Madara knew little and didn’t care for the situation, and his parents influence proved just as useless, Saigen decided to have Itachi sit with Shisui. Mikoto had said they were always close when they were younger.

Shisui didn’t look as awful as he had when he was revived, but he still looked exhausted. He was used to his cousins smile and light hearted nature. Shisui seemed a little happy to see him though. And why wouldn’t he be after years of being buried in a grave and seeing only darkness.

“How are you doing? You’ve been in the hospital for a month now.”

“Really? It feels like a lot longer ya know? It’s not all that bad, we’re getting to the root of my depression. My therapist says that I’m carrying a large burden on my shoulders and he thinks it’s time I let it go.”

“Vague. We’re all carrying some kind of burden.” Itachi countered.

“Yes well, he is right. Even in death, I’ve been blaming myself for losing to Danzo. I feel like I failed not only our clan, but our village too. I should have been more careful. I could have done a lot of other things different. I didn’t have to just quit then and place all that responsibility on your shoulders.”

“Shisui, you didn’t place anything on my shoulders. I chose my own path.”

“That may be so, but my foolish decision to commit suicide weighed in on your decision heavily.”

“Shisui.” Itachi sighed. He couldn’t exactly deny that Shisui’s death didn’t play a part in his turn against the clan. If they hadn’t been stupid enough to plan a coup, Shisui wouldn’t have had to go against them and lose his eye against Danzō. If he hadn’t lost his eye he wouldn’t have given his other one to Itachi before killing himself new Itachi wouldn’t have been blamed for his death and completely lost his hope in his family. It was all cause and effect really.

“Do you remember when we were younger and you wanted to fight me? To test my strength?” Itachi said. The older man smiled just a little.

“I still have more wins than you.”

“That you do.” Itachi nodded.

“Ya know Itachi, I’ve obviously been getting briefed in here and a lot of the things I’m hearing about you kind of sounds like a lot of what my therapist is saying to me.” He told him with pursed lips. “You’re denying yourself a chance at what could turn out to be pure unadulterated fun and happiness because you think you’re a bad person and the worst is what you deserve.”

“Oh Kami,” Itachi rolled his eyes, “I didn’t come here to have my psyche analyzed.”

“I don’t have to analyze. You’re practically screaming it. And stop using Sasuke as an excuse for everything. I know how much you love your brother, but he’s fine. He’s alive, he’s doing whatever he wants to. He’s as fine as someone could be over there.”

“They literally labeled him ‘mentally unstable’.”

“He’s an Uchiha…we’re born that way. Did you ever think that maybe what Sasuke needs is to reinvent himself? He had one purpose, killing you, as far as he knows, you’re dead. His whole life was about that. Now he’s gotta find something else to live for.”

“Don’t do it for me.” Shisui said. “Do it for me? I’ve missed you and I have no intentions of going back. Life is gonna be really hard until I can figure my own shit out, but it’d be a lot easier with a friend around.”

Itachi thought on it. He had to be sure Shisui was right. Sasuke’s red headed companion was aggravated with his coming to her for an update on his brother, but she ensured him that at least two years ago Sasuke was fine. He was doing a lot of loner stuff trying to find himself and right his wrongs, but he wasn’t focusing on the negativity in his life anymore. He was too busy trying to make peace with himself, his life, and the world itself.

“So you’ve agreed to stay?” The happy blonde woman exclaimed.

“What will be expected of me for my stay?” Itachi asked.

“We essentially just want to establish a strong defense line for our country. Ya see, before you all came into play, there was just a handful of us to not only defend our people but to also defend our weaker allies. It’s strenuous and we can’t always afford to be everywhere at once. The homeland comes first and if we’re in like I don’t know, Judonia fighting for them while our own world is being attacked…it’s tragic. Our people may have power in their hands but they can’t fight off everything themselves and that’s not why they come here to live.” Saigen explained.

“We would see to it that you and everyone else are set up with proper training, we would have all your knowledge on our world expanded and you would be allowed to do just about everything else that the other citizens can do.”

“You all have can have jobs, go to school, start families.” Evanna cooed clapping her hands happily. “It’s really all so wonderful when you think about it.”

“You can even study in different fields of magic and like convert to a wizard or some shit like that if you want.” The man added. “But, I had a special request for you.”

“I don’t care for any of those amenities. I’m doing this solely for Shisui. But do tell me about this special request?”

“Right so, the woman who resurrected like everyone, her name is Daniela. Dannie for short and she is our very special little secret.” Saigen began, his demeanor becoming quite serious.

“Resurgency is a very rare power. So rare in fact that after disappearing for centuries, Dannie is the only living being with that particular type of gift. Sure there are people who can reanimate the dead and heal wounds, but there is no one other than her who can take a mangled body and make them brand new again.” Evanna explained. “No one knows that she is a resurgent. No one but us, the last people who knew took advantage of her gift and they were executed.”

“We would like to keep it that way. She’s going to need a set of bodyguards. We picked you and your former partner Kisame Hoshigaki, who by the way has already agreed.”

Of course Kisame had already agreed. “I don’t want to be a babysitter.”

“It’s not babysitting, she’s fully capable of taking care of herself. We just need extra caution for her because she is such a classified secret. She’s extremely sweet though and if it appeals to you, she can’t even talk. She’s mute.”

“You would have to learn sign language to communicate with her, but like Saigen said, she is very nice. Feisty and she eats a lot, mainly spaghetti-

“She does love her spaghetti.”

“But she’s well worth it.” Evanna finished.

“Plus we’ll be paying you on top of the money that you’ll already be receiving for joining the militia and like not many of us get paid for that so…you’re welcome.”

Itachi was taken to meet the woman so he could decide for himself if it was truly worth it. She was short. Barely 5 foot tall he assumed and she was…adorable. Her dark brown hair was just past shoulders and she had such lively green eyes. She was shy, but active enough once she got comfortable. And sure enough, she couldn’t speak. Only sign.

She was very curious about Itachi. She walked circles around him for minutes before lightly touching his hair. That was very short lived and Itachi made sure of it. The brunette rubbed small circular fists on her chest as an apology and he merely blinked his assent. He figured he would need something to do to keep from being bored so he agreed to do a trial run with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will delve more into the wonderful Dannie


	7. New Friends in Strange Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely understand that this story is probably extremely fucking confusing and no one has any idea what's happening but I'm trying very hard to make it as detail oriented as possible so that you guys can envision it similar to the way I do. Feel free to ask questions if you're ever confused and I will answer them, I promise. The story is moving along a little. We're finally getting to see some training action.

Chapter S.e.v.e.n: New Friends in Strange Places

Daniella Kalleah Donziello was born November 3rd, 1987 in Sicily, Italy. She was the youngest of two children to Maura and Lex Donziello, her older brother being Trae Donziello who was three years older than her. She was a smiley child who learned to speak quickly and once she learned she refused to stop. She was never a good singer but she would sing all the words to her favorite shows as loudly as she possibly could and she would talk about anything and everything that would get her attention even if it was mostly gibberish.

Dannie’s favorite past time as a tot was to perform magic shows with her older brother. He would assist her in pulling fluffy white rabbits out of hats and sometimes she would make an entire plate of spaghetti or pizza disappear and call that magic. She lived this way for almost three years before a gathering of warlocks stormed her home and murdered her parents. Dannie had been hiding in a closet and heard the assault. Her mother screaming and her brother crying. Once her mother had gone silent and her brothers cries were reduced to gargled sobs she knew she was in trouble.

She was taken from home that day and forced to live in a covenant with the group of collector warlocks. She was 25 years old when she was finally rescued and brought home to Saigon by her brother and some of his new found friends, but by then the damage had already been done. No longer did Dannie care to sing or talk nonsense for attention. She didn’t do magic shows and she ate next to nothing on a daily basis.

She had inadvertently brought with her a large sum of the collection panel from her captors and that was how they had discovered she was resurgent. Something Dannie had known for years now only because it had saved her life a number of times in that hell house. Some people in the collection panel, her parents. She hadn’t recognized them just like she hadn’t recognized her brother when he found her hiding in yet another closet that day, but they somehow recognized her.

It was strange. Trying to adjust to their new life, her new life there. Luckily for them, they didn’t have centuries worth of time and history to catch up on like some of the others so adjusting wasn’t all that hard. The hardest part about it for Dannie was trying to fit in and live comfortably with her family. Her brother still had plenty of memories with his parents and the three of them were conversing like not much had happened. Dannie on the other hand had little to no memories left of them and felt extremely out of place. No one understood her self taught sign language and they ultimately knew nothing about her.

They were trying and though it was appreciated, Dannie decided living with them was a no go. She hated being alone, but she would’ve rather been alone than to be in that house one more day. So after much deliberation, her brother took it upon himself to help his little sister find the safest and nicest apartment to satisfy her. She moved into the Ritz two weeks later. It was a wonderful place and it housed many lovely people but Dannie also liked the fact that it was named after her favorite crackers.

Harold was Dannie’s doorman and he was a sweet old gentleman who helped Dannie’s transition to be much smoother. He always greeted her when she came and promised he’d be right there at the door waiting for her when she came back. He always was and though she knew it was his job, she still appreciated it. Inside her new home though was too quiet and increasingly lonely. It gave her anxiety.

A few months later, one of her runaway collection rescues, Saigen, had the bright idea to resurrect someone himself. He invited Dannie along mainly because she was the only other person in the syndicate with him at the time but she went along with it anyways. He brought two people to life. Two women and they became her new friends. Kanna moved in with Dannie immediately and it was nice because there was finally someone else in her presence, but awkward because Kanna didn’t speak and didn’t understand sign language. She also seemed deathly annoyed and bored, but eventually Dannie came to appreciate her silence. Kagura lived with a man named Sesshomaru, who became Dannie’s personal trainer eventually, but sooner rather than later, those two broke up and Kagura moved in with Dannie.

Kagura‘s presence was powerful. If she wanted to be heard she would make herself heard. It wasn’t bad though, Dannie liked having her around. She helped Kanna learn sign language and she was able to explain to Dannie what exactly was up with Kanna. Turns out she didn’t hate her, she just didn’t care much about anything. The three of them lived together for two and a half years before Kagura and Kanna wanted to experience life on their own, but together, but in their own place. Dannie understood. They were still going to be friends, the girls just wanted to try doing their own thing.

After they moved out, Dannie was learning to grow on her own. The girls, and Saigen before he went off to prison, helped her to grow a little when she was with them but they had done their part and now she had to do hers. Her first challenge on her own came in the shape of a guy by the name of Tony. He was tall, Italian bred, and he loved her bright green eyes. At first, Dannie avoided Tony at all costs because after being held prisoner by a group of men for 23 years the last thing she wanted to do was be locked in a committed relationship with one. Nevertheless, Tony was persistent. He sent her flowers, bought her gifts without asking, and often times showed up outside the Ritz and waited for her to come out so he could ask her to breakfast, or brunch with how late she woke up.

After a year of wooing he was able to win her over and Dannie convinced herself that it wouldn’t be that bad. Their first year together was wonderful and Tony had proved himself to be worth it. He had been adamant about learning sign for her so they could talk all the time. He was a drastically slow learner with the trait, but Dannie thought it was cute. It was all cute until a little over a year when he started to change. Suddenly he didn’t care for learning anymore. He wasn’t being patient with her and he no longer made cute jokes about her small button nose or complimented her glittering green eyes. Instead he commented on things that made her self conscious, like maybe he thought she was too sensitive or he didn’t like the outfit she wore because it made her look fat or ‘too much like a boy.’ Which was 90 percent of her look because Dannie had hated wearing dresses and heels.

Sometimes he would get mad for no reason and when she would have to quickly explain that there was nothing to get mad about he would only get more angry and yell something hateful at her. “Use your words you idiot!” That was one of his favorite sayings. He was also never too shy to remind her that she should be lucky someone like him wanted her because no other man would be generous enough to show her the same pity he had. She was stupid, ugly, and annoying and she owed it to him to try and be perfect since he had been perfect for her.

So that’s what she tried to do. Whenever Tony was in Saigon and felt like spending time with her, she would make herself uncomfortable and put on a pretty dress, maybe some flats or god even some heels. She would do her hair and paint her face and sign as little as possible. Then whenever he got bored with playing house he would float back home to Italy or go visit whatever woman he had that was also apparently better than her.

She didn’t know why she stayed, but she did. She didn’t know what she would do without him because she felt isolated and he was always reminding her that she was useless. She knew she wasn’t, she had become an amazing martial artist, she was learning to tame her magic and she had plenty of people she could rely on if she needed the help, but the nagging voice in the back of her head was always louder. And then she was also terribly embarrassed. So to save herself the further embarrassment she just pretended everything was alright.

o.O.o

It was Karin’s first day at work at Espress Café and she was determined to go in there and make her mark. How hard could brewing a cup of coffee be right? Her trainer was a small girl named Sinn. Sinn smiled a lot and she had short choppy hair that she kept tucked under a hat. She was wearing a pair of jeans that were rolled up enough to expose her insanely hairy legs. Different, but Karin didn’t comment on it. It wasn’t her business and sometimes she got lazy and didn’t shave either. She personally wouldn’t go to work like that, but again, it wasn’t her business.

Sinn gave her a black visor and a short black apron to put on and told her that they would be starting with support role.

“So, whenever you’re running support you’re going to be doing exactly what the name says. Supporting. You’ll always run a cycle first and then you’ll hop around the café and grab a few things for the bars, if the register is flooded, you’ll hop on the register or if there’s a mass amount of drinks in the queue, you’ll take over on either cold bar or hot bar.” Karin nodded.

“Cool, so let’s run a cycle first. Always brew your coffee first. We’re midday shifting right now so we’ll still have dark and medium roast. It’s during the PM shift that we’ll drop dark and brew only medium. What you’re gonna want to do is pull off the ‘Medin’’, which is our medium roast. Drain it in the sink and move the ‘’Deso’ over to the right.”

“Alright,” Karin muttered. Seemed easy enough. She pulled the urn labeled ‘Medin’ off the brewer and sat it in the sink waiting for it to drain. “I think it’s broken, nothing’s happening.”

“Oh shit,” Sinn laughed, “you’ve gotta pull the little lever. It’ll also work better if you set it on the edge on the sink so you don’t have to hold it. Like this.” The smaller woman stepped in front and picked the urn up leaning it into the sink on the edge and turned the lever down. A steady stream of hot coffee began spilling into the sink.

“Hmph, I see.” Karin whispered mainly to herself.

“Now, grab that funnel. The thing with the handle and dump it in this trash can.” Karin did as she was instructed while Sinn moved behind her to switch the other urn and put the now emptied one on the left side. She had Karin rinse the funnel and then place a new coffee filter inside.

“Here’s your Medin beans. Take the red scoop and scoop three big piles into the grinder, place the silver cup under here and hit the red button.” Red scoop, three scoops, grinder…grind. The grinder was loud and and the metal cup banged against the metal panel of the grinder. It was really obnoxious in Karin’s opinion but she didn’t say anything about it. She dumped the freshly ground coffee into the filter and replaced the funnel on the left side like Sinn had done with the urn. They started their timer and moved on to the rest of their cycle which consisted of replacing lids and sleeves and filling the bean hoppers. Karin was left alone to run two more cycles before Sinn told her it was time to learn how to work the register.

The register was incredibly intimidating. There were a lot of buttons and a lot of categories. People were always hopping in her line and unfortunately lots of people in Saigon had accents from all over and it was only thanks to her super hearing that she was able to pick up on their stupid whispering. She didn’t get to bar that shift but she figured that would be a given. It wasn’t until her third shift when she had quickly mastered support and gotten much better at register that Sinn finally took her over to the bar.

“First drink is a large peppermint latte. Do you remember your shot and syrup counts?”

“Regular hot drinks go 2,3,3. Syrups are 2,4,5.”

“Right, good girl. Alright, you’re gonna watch me make this one and then you can make the next one. First step, milk. Always steam your milk first.” Karin watched as Sinn poured some milk into the pitcher right up to the max line and then dipped the steaming wand in. The steamer was also loud, not as loud as the stupid grinder, but still loud. It made a shrieking noise before Sinn pulled the pitcher down and tilted it and then it started sounding like paper ripping and then just a quiet whirlpool. Sinn queued three shots and then quickly pumped 5 pumps of peppermint syrup into the cup and then placed it to catch the shots.

Karin caught on to the basic drinks quite easily. She had never struggled to memorize numbers and after you had the numbers memorized it was just a simple matter of repetition. Sinn was impressed with her and her manager Kale was too. They both agreed that Karin would be advancing there quickly. Two months into her job she was getting incredible amounts of bar time and she knew how to make just about every drink served.

o.O.o

Itachi and Kisame didn’t have to hang around Dannie 24 hours a day, but they at least needed to know of her whereabouts should she be alone so that if anything happens and she needs help they’ll know where to find her. The three of them needed to know each other like the back of their hands, or better than they know themselves. If one of them was ever kidnapped by a wayward shapeshifter who tried impersonating them, they wouldn’t be so easily deceived.

Dannie was used to having people worry and hover over her, mainly because of her untimely disappearance, but also because of her gift. Now however she felt like maybe they were being a bit excessive. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki were her personal babysitters or as they liked to call them, ‘body guards.’

They had been employed for a hefty two weeks now and it was exhausting. Kisame was fine. Though strange and quite intimidating at first he was friendly and he treated Dannie like the respectable adult that she was. That other one though, he was rude and nit picky. He talked to her like she was five years old and he kept calling her ‘Daniella.’ She hated it.

Dannie had kindly invited the two of them to take over the two guests rooms in her apartmen in case they ever felt like sleeping over and getting out of the Akatsuki manor that they lived in primarily with the rest of their team. Kisame has graciously accepted and spent quite a bit of time over there with her. Itachi was shifty. He spent most of his time at his cousin Shisui’s house and then some time at the manor, the rest of his time was spent hovering over Dannie like a dark and broody cloud that wouldn’t leave.

The nicest thing he had done for her without having to be asked was learn sign language. He was fast at it too, she believed it had something to do with his eyes. When they turned red and he watched her hands like in a trance.

“My eyes are like cameras. They record.” He had told her. “They capture mental images of everything I see when they’re red and I live off those images.” Dannie insisted she had a pretty decent memory too. Credit to being immortal.

Kisame was a little slower with learning sign language but he knew enough to hold small conversations with her and the more they spoke in sign the more he picked up on.

Over the course of two weeks, they had learned a few key things about the tiny Italian woman. She loved animals but she was terrified of big dogs. They gave her panic attacks and caused her to withdraw from herself. She didn’t spend much time with her immediate family aside from her older brother or occasionally her many nieces and nephews . Her reasoning was always that she didn’t know them well enough to feel completely comfortable around them. Something to do with her past that she had declined opening up about.

Dannie wasn’t a drinker, it made her terribly sick and so she chose to remain alcohol free for life. She did however smoke, not cigarettes, but lots of weed which was why she always had such an appetite despite just living to eat. Dannie was also deathly allergic to crabs but she liked the taste of them too much so she just ate and revived herself as she needed to.

She was her own unique individual and for the most part Kisame, and Itachi, could respect that. It wasn’t until they received their first mission together that Itachi realized Dannie was more than just a tiny adorable little food gobbling machine. Jumping from universe to universe was a common practice for the royal team so when Saigen informed them he was sending them over to the ‘Feudal world’ to do some advanced field training there Dannie was not at all surprised or confused. She explained to her two partners that they often trained in worlds not their own to get used to different landscaping, villains, obstacles, and cultures in case of any covert missions.

The three of them camped over in Feudal for a week and during that week the two of them sparred with Dannie singularly and as a 2 against 1 set. They were pleasantly surprised with her ability to keep up with them as well as she had. Her senses were attuned to the world around her and it wasn’t as easy as simply masking their chakra from enemy shinobi. They carried a scent with them and Dannie had memorized that scent from them living in her home and spending so much time with her. Her ears knew the very beat of their walk and the exact vibrations that their footprints left. Heavy and dragging was Kisame while Itachi’s steps were light like feathers and more precautious.

She was faster than them which while they appreciated not having to carry her weight around, it burned them a little. It was another perk to being immortal. Having a weightless sprint and being able to move as fast as sound.

One night after a long day of training, Dannie explained to them the differences between vampires now and vampires then. Vampires then were just that, vampires. There were no half breeds, there were no special gifts that came alongside your blood thirsty immortality, and everyone generally had the same strengths and abilities. Vampires now weren’t always made the way they used to be. Through birth or bite. Now people could be genetically altered and turned into a vampire through transcendence. The vampire gene mixed with their already metamorphic genes and created a new gene within them. They were all practically magically and scientifically enhanced it got stronger with every generation.

“Is that why you’re able to come out during the day? Because you’ve been so genetically altered?” Kisame asked her at one point.

“No,” Dannie signed, “vampires have always been able to walk in the sun. That photosensitivity to light is a myth. We preferred walking the night back in the old days because it was easier to catch the prey when less people were walking the streets.”

“Were you born a vampire?” Itachi asked her from his quiet corner of the room. Dannie again replied no. All she said on the matter was that she was bitten when she was younger and that was all she’d like to say about it. Itachi and Kisame didn’t press her, but it didn't make Itachi any less curious. He would leave it be for the night, but eventually she was going to have to open up to them about her past. If they wanted their team to be successful that is.

o.O.o

When Karin finally met Kallisa, she was amazed at the resemblance. She looked like she could have been his sister. She was tall like her father and she eccentric like her grandfather. Not in the overly friendly and surprisingly nice way, but she had her own unique gravitational pull. They met for dinner with Saigen and the two of them shared small talk and Kallisa told Karin about some of her hobbies here. Midway through their dinner Karin got a wonderful idea from admiring some artwork Kallisa had. So around noon on a Thursday, Karin was walking out of the front door to Haven to meet Kallisa.

The girl didn’t drive a car like her father or her grandfather, instead she rode a bicycle. Lots of people in Saigon rode bicycles to feel and smell the wonderful airy breeze. Karin had taken up cycling to help herself save money. Cars were expensive and even though Kanna had offered her one of the two vehicles she had, they were still pretty expensive to keep up with. Besides, she didn't mind biking. Like everyone else, she enjoyed the freeing feeling.

The two girls greeted each other and set off on their journey with Kallisa leading the way. They were headed away to a close by city known as Cadha. Cadha was known for it’s for its wild nightlife and also for a very popular club known as ‘The Glory House.’ It was a sex club. Their destination was in the center of a bunch of other small shops and diners. A dark skinned woman sat along the curb smoking a cigarette. Kallisa knew her and referred to her as Celeste.

“Is Gabe in there today?” She asked her as they locked their bikes.

“Yeah he’s in there. Getting some more work done?” Celeste replied.

“Not me, not today.” Kallisa said shaking her head. “My friend is though. Her name is Karin, she’s new here.” Celeste stared at Karin in a way that almost made her uneasy.

“Well I’ll be damned,” the woman chuckled, “I didn’t think I’d ever see you in person. Not as scary as everyone claimed you were.” Great, Celeste was another one of those people who wasn’t over it yet. Karin dealt with customers who were angry at specifically her at least three times in a shift. It was less than what it could have been so she was grateful, but still she wished people would stop bringing it up altogether.

“Sorry,” she muttered, “for whatever I did to you.” It was something she’d learned to just say now. It didn’t always make it better, maybe because people could hear the lack of fucks in her tone, but she couldn't help it. Close to two and a half years later and she still couldn’t remember a single thing from the horrific event; so essentially it was hard for her to be sympathetic about something she had no recollection of.

“Don’t apologize to me.” Celeste shrugged. “I moved here just last year so you didn’t really affect me. I just heard all the gory stories about it. Besides, from what I’ve been told, you were a victim yourself. We’re all equal then, right?”

Karin didn’t know what to say. She definitely agreed that she was a victim. She had been locked away for two years while everyone in the world blamed her for a bunch of shit and she never got to defend herself. And of course everyone else was a victim as well, they lost their homes, their families…

“Thanks.” She nodded.

“Yeah,” Kallisa interjected, “let’s be done with this soppy stuff and go inside, k?” Karin agreed and Celeste waved them on as the silvery haired blonde opened the door and led the readhead inside. It smelled really good in there, and it was warm but not too hot. The walls were lined with wonderful photos and sketches of everything from flowers to people. There was a soft looking couches along one of the walls and a pool table along another. The front desk was made almost entirely of glass with a black granite countertop. Inside the glass a bunch of jewelry was being showcased.

A tall man dressed in all black with dark short cut hair walked out from the back, over to the desk; Kallisa approached him and he greeted her shortly as she did him. Karin was sure she was probably supposed to follow, but she was slightly awestruck by this man. He was handsome for one but he didn’t put off that ‘I know I’m the shit and every girl wants me kind of way.’ It was effortless beauty. The way he wore his hair, a simple runthrough with his fingers. His clothing, nothing too fancy. Black jeans with holes in the knees that exposed his tattooed skin. A black v-neck short sleeved shirt that revealed even more tattooed skin. His eyes were an electric blue color that contrasted perfectly against his dark hair.

“Karin, come here.” She heard Kallisa calling. She hesitated a moment before mentally shaking herself and moving towards the two of them. “This is Gabe Petran. My tattoo/piercing artist. He’s gonna do your tattoo for you.”

“Kali says you're looking for a cover up sleeve.” His voice was deep and there was the slightest hint of an accent in there, which didn’t surprise her because almost everyone in Saigon had an accent to her.

“Yes.” She whispered and then cleared her throat and repeated herself a little louder. “I’m not covering up another tattoo or anything, just some old scars.” He extended his hand to her and asked to look at her arm. After flipping her heavy hair over her shoulder and freeing her left arm from her jacket she allowed him to analyze her skin. If he thought her bruises were weird he didn’t say anything about it for which she was ever grateful. She figured if they wouldn’t go away on their own she could at least try to hide them a little.

The soft pads of his fingers trailed up and down her cold arm. Rolling it over and over in his palm and staring at it intensely before he finally let go of it.

“This is your first tattoo right?” She nodded. “Alright, there’s a few ways we can do this. We can use the traditional method, I sketch something, you like it, I draw it on your arm for life. Or, we could use a newer method. I sketch something, you like it, I trace it onto the arm sleeve and then put the sleeve on you and a thousand or so tiny little needles insert themselves into your skin and move around just enough to put the image on your arm.

You’re a vampire, so, it won’t hurt you as much as it hurts other people, but regardless of your mythical race you’re gonna bleed more if you use the sleeve. Nothing to be worried about, it’s normal.”

“I see.” She huffed. “Which one is faster. I don’t wanna be here all day.”

“Option two.”

“And how much does that cost?” She asked narrowing her ruby eyes. Gabe shrugged and said that it would cost $100 and Karin was very pleasantly surprised. “That is so cheap. How do you keep this place running with such low prices? I thought I was gonna have to curse you out until you gave me a cheaper price. I was well prepared with insults and everything.” She confessed.

“Jesus is that how you do business with people?”

“Don’t you worry about how I handle my business.” She said pointing an accusatory finger.

“Fine,” he said slowly raising his inked hands in defense, “if you must know though, the actual price would be roughly around $6-700. The technology is very sensitive and it takes a lot to clean even with the use of cling wrap. I was just being nice to you because you’re new and you’re cute. The attitude is very adorable.” Karin fought back the urge to blush while Kallisa gagged quietly next to her and muttered something about all of this being ‘fucking disgusting.’ The redhead didn’t reply or thank him for the comment she just quickly fished out some bills from her purse and slapped them on the counter while sucking in her bottom lip. Afterwards Karin and Kallisa went and sat down in the lobby while Gabe made a quick sketch of something he was sure she would like and readied his station for her. Every now and then she found herself peeking over at him, watching him. He looked focused and at east. Very relaxed, but exhausted. Like he hadn’t slept in weeks and somehow it managed to add to his attractiveness.

“How do you know him?” She asked Kallisa.

“I first met him through one of my father’s students named Draco. Draco and Gabe are best friends, and Gabe kind of takes care of Drae. He’s sick.”

“Ah.” Was all she said. Gabe Petran, the hot tattoo artist who takes care of his sick friend and gives cute girls hefty discounts. She was curious.

o.O.o

Gabe had called her back not too long after they sat down. Kallisa would’ve gone back with her, but she was busy mercilessly winning money in several rounds of pool. He had shown her the sketch. It was a beautiful and elaborate layout of beautiful wet looking flowers. She loved flowers and she liked the simplistic scheme of it. She wasn’t sure if something more detailed would look strange on her so she decided not to be too risky. He fit the arm sleeve onto her after coating the entirety of left arm in Vaseline from top of shoulder to wrist. The sleeve was a little heavy, but it didn’t bother her. Once he was sure she was ready, he flipped a switch and the machine roared to life. She felt the tiny pricks, almost like she was being stung over and over again but it wasn’t anything to complain about.

“Doesn’t hurt, does it?” She shook her head no, but she knew he knew it didn’t. He slouched back a little in his chair next to her and occasionally wiped at some droplets of blood that trickled down her arm. “So, the infamous Karin Uzumaki. The vessel for the almighty Phoenix.”

“It ain't that special.” She said as she rolled her eyes.

“You’re serious? It is that special. Haven’t that taught you any history lessons? You shared the same destiny as our Queen. Only difference is, you lived through it.”

“Barely.” Karin scoffed. “I hear about all the lessons. I read about all the gifts I’m supposed to have, doesn’t mean I have them or that I know what I’m doing with them.”

“That’ll change.” He shrugged sounding so certain. “You’re been awarded to all of us as a warrior. Can’t be a warrior if you don’t know shit.” He wiped away a few more drops.

Karin was quiet for a moment as she thought over what he said. He was right. She’d been living freely for almost three months. Soon enough she would start training with the group and learning how to manipulate her powers. It was kind of exciting anytime she thought about it. In the Shinobi world, Karin was never physically the strongest and definitely not the most skilled fighter. She had little to no knowledge of how to actually be a shinobi because no one in her village ever thought she’d be worth teaching. She taught herself and the rest she learned from watching others.

“How long have you lived here?” She asked not wanting to be the topic of discussion anymore.

“Saigon has been my home for almost eight years now. I moved here from my home country, Poland, when I was 19.”

“So you’re 27, like, legitimately 27?”

“My immortal age is three, but yes I’m biologically 27.”

“Well...I’m 22. My immortal age is two...and almost a half.”

“Congratulations on being halfway to three then.” He said smiling lightly.

“Thank you. What about the rest of your family? Have they moved to Saigon as well?”

“Not a chance. My father is dead, has been for years. My mother, well, she’s mentally ill, legally crazy, refuses to have anything to do with me after the ‘satanic’ lifestyle I chose and my younger brother is stuck in between a world of his own and my mother’s chaos, but he also chooses to have very little to do with me.”

“Oh. Sorry for asking.” She muttered.

“Don’t be. I’m perfectly fine with it. They can hate me all they want, but I’ll always belong to them so..they kind of just have to deal with it.” Karin disagreed entirely. They didn’t have to and she was positive he knew that, but if it helped him sleep at night then she wouldn't argue it. “And your family?”

“Dead as well.” She answered quickly. “My father left my mother and I when I was young and I’m assuming he got his karma and died somewhere in a ditch. My mother died before I was ten. I don’t have any siblings.” ‘I have a cousin.’ She thought to say, but refrained. She didn’t know Naruto well enough to be claiming him.

“Should I apologize for asking?” He asked quietly. She shook her head. “Alright then, is there a shareable story behind these scars?”

“Nope.” She responded quickly. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” He nodded and left the topic alone. A few minutes later he was pulling the sleeve off of her arm to reveal the finished piece. Her arm was red from all the needles, swollen skin, but it was beautiful. He cleaned it and gently rubbed a lotion onto her skin while explaining to her how to keep it from rejecting and getting an infection and then he wrapped her arm and led her back to the front.

Kallisa complimented her new tattoo and Karin mentally thanked her. She was mesmerized. She could hardly see the jagged teeth marks that lined her pale arms and it was like having a fresh start. She had bared those scars since she was a small girl and they had been the bane of her existence. Always having to cover them and always feeling shitty about herself for having them. It felt invigorating.

“Thank you.” She told Gabe. “I love it.”

“No problem. Is this gonna be a reoccurring thing or am I never gonna see you again?” He asked while leaning casually on the desk.

“No no, I have a few other places I want you to cover. I don’t know when I’ll come back though, I’m a very busy person.”

“Of course you are.” He smirked. “Just come whenever you feel like it, the odds of me being here are pretty good.” Karin agreed and soon after she and Kallisa left. The ride back to Merona seemed much faster than the trip to Cadha. The two of them grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant together before going their separate ways. All night long Karin admired her tattoo. Her first ever tattoo. Done by Gabe Petran. Her new friend and her new artist. She had a job, she had several friends, she had her own place, and she had a clean slate on her arm. Never before had things seemed to come together so nicely for her, but she loved it.

o.O.o

November 3rd, all of the shinobis received a message to be at a particular address by 8AM dressed in workout clothes and to bring a bag of supplies and foods with them. They were all there, dressed and prepared on time and they found themselves standing in the center of a stadium arena. Saigen and a few of the others stood across from them on the arena floor, also dressed in fitness gear. Madara assumed that it was finally time for their training to begin and he was elated. Vacations were nice, but he was itching to fight someone, anyone other than that damned giant with the silver hair again.

“Good morning trainees!” Saigen bellowed with a large smile on his per usual. “As most of you may have already guessed, today marks the first day of your official Royal Militia training. Before we begin however, we’re just gonna touch base and cover some quick introductions and ground rules for you all. You all have been acquainted with most of the people up here so far, but for anyone who hasn’t met all of, we are you Elder Council. Made up of people who crafted what is now known as the Royal Militia or to common citizens, the Royal Family.

I am Saigen Igarashi, son of InuTaisho and Irasue Igarashi. I am your training director. Any training regimens that you receive that don’t come from your personal trainers are coming directly from me. As members of such an elite squad of warriors, you are required to meet several standards. Such as weight standards to make sure you’re healthy and work out standards to make sure you’re not getting out shape. As you know there are 12 months in a year. This month we’re going to test you on one, or for some of you, two things. You human speed, agility, and strength and also your meta human speed, agility, and strength. Example. If Evanna was doing this test, we would have her put on a power stripping bracelet. The bracelet would insert a few needles into her skin and veins along her wrist and inject a flurry of molecules that will attach themselves to her mutated and/or genetically modified DNA cells and neutralize them making her human again so long as she’s wearing the bracelet.

While wearing said PSB, Evanna would do cardio to monitor her speed, she would take a field test to monitor her agility, and she would have some kind of power test to monitor her strength. After recording her results, we’ll remove the PSB and have her do the whole test over again in her subhuman form and record those results. Three months from now when she redoes her testing we’ll compare the results and then three months after that we’ll compare again, rinse, wash, and repeat it again. Each time you test your results should be better than the last. These tests are called Quarterlys. Along with quarterlys and a general training schedule, each of you will also complete a yearly 24 hour long training day. You’ll all have your own personal day to do this and that schedule will be given to you before you leave today.Any questions?”

No one said anything and Saigen smiled, nodded, and allowed the next introduction to begin.

“Hello all, I am Evanna Coburn and I am a master student of Kato Igarashi. I am also your Human Resources Representative. My job is not only to make sure that you all are adjusting well to your new lives here in Saigon, but also to make sure that you’re complying with the rules and regulations of the RM. The are seven rules to follow. Rule 1, you are not allowed to disclose the location of headquarters and training facilities, nor are you allowed to bring non RM persons into such facilities. Rule 2, RM are not allowed to disclose any information about classified militant and mission details. Rule 3, RM are not allowed to fight citizens/tourists in public/private settings. If a fight does occur the member or members responsible will face a penalty fee and a citation.

Rule 4, RM are not allowed to take part in the activity of illegal drug usage on lawed property. If it’s international we can’t stop you. Rule 5, If a RM chooses to partake in events in which persons are usually paid for, you are not allowed to accent any money if you are using a Royal Family publication. For instance, if you host a TV show, you can not profit from it if you are using the Royal Family or Military to sell your show in any way. Rule 6, Any RM that is enrolled in an academy must maintain a 3.0 GPA. And finally, rule 7, RM’s are not allowed to partake in sporting activities without explicit spoken and written consent from the training director.

Are there any questions about the rules?” Karin, along with a few others raised their hands quickly.

“Kaori?” Evanna called.

“Alright so, what’s this penalty fee and what happens if we get cited?” Kaori asked. Several hands went back down.

“The penalty fee is $100 and it goes up $75 each time after. Once you get cited, you will receive a written copy and I will have a written copy that goes in your file for three years and after three years, if you haven't received another citation it gets tossed. If you have received another, your fine goes up and you become a step closer to counseling. Counseling comes after the third citation, if you proceed to get a fourth citation you will be dismissed from the team and spend a year in minimum security prison for aggravated assault and battery.”

“What if we’re not the offenders?” Tayuya asked from down the line. “Like, what if we get ambushed?”

“All claims will be heavily reviewed before any decisions are made. If you are not the offender then you’re fine.” The two women nodded satisfied with their answers. “Karin?”

“I applied to the academy and I start next month, let’s see I for some reason wanna play a sport, do I have to still keep up with my general training schedule on top of my sport training or what?”

“If you are approved for said sport, your training there would replace majority of your elitist schedule here.” Saigen said. “You’ll still be required to do some things because no sport is gonna train you the way we will, but we’ll make sure you’re doing a sport that at least covers the basics.”

“I have a question about this academy stuff.” Shisui said. “Is it open to anyone or just the younger kids. And what exactly are you doing there?”

“When we say ‘the academy’ we’re namely talking about the ‘Academy of Ethereal Magics. Which is our public academy for anyone and everyone who wants to learn how to use or enhance their powers. If you’re interested you can certainly apply. We do have other schooling options for those who aren’t interested in magic. The basic schooling, functional math, languages, arts, and adulting classes. Those are two year schools starting from 1st grade to 10th and then you would move on to college. Three years and 6 semesters total for a standard bachelors degree.” Once Evanna had answered everyone’s questions they moved on to the next introduction.

“My name is Irasue Igarashi. I am your gears expert. Whenever you need new training or battle attire, I provide it for you. We do have standard gear that everyone will receive by the end of today. Namely things like your water training gear attire and mission attire. When it comes to specific attachments and designs you can have as much say as safely possible for your own outfits. Your outfits will all be designed to protect certain weak areas that you all may have and to help you better adjust to your location. For instance, if you’re training in a mountainous terrain your shoes will have slip resistance and shall be spiked to help you hold your balance better. If you’re running a mission in the Alps your gear will have a protective heated inliner for those of you who can’t just deal with the cold. Little things like that, it's all quite self explanatory so I won't be doing any silly questions.”

“Okay then, my name is InuTaisho Igarashi. I will be your weapons expert. You’re all shinobi so you’re all very acquainted with weapons. I’m here to help you craft the perfect weapon for you. A weapon that works for you and you only. I know some of you already have your precious and most beloved weapons so I won’t be forcing them away from you, but we will work to enhance them. To make them sharper, strong, more malleable and such. All very simple and practical things.”

“What if...our choice of weapon isn’t a blade or some shit? What are you gonna do for us then, hn?” Deidara asked.

“We have a strong belief here that everyone should know at least the basics of swinging either a sword, an axe, spears, clubs, literally anything because if you find yourself in a worst case scenario and you don’t know how to wield any other weapon, you’re screwed. So needless to say, you’ll all be trained on that, whether you choose to move on to mastering that weapon or not is up to you.”

“When you say enhance, how exactly could you do that? How would you make a sword proficient for only us? Do you have examples?” Hashirama asked with a very intrigued look on his face.

“Why of course. Saigen, my son, if you would show the nice people your sword, So’Unga.” Saigen nodded to himself for a moment before conjuring up the sword by his side. InuTaisho met him in the middle as Saigen unsheathed the sword for it to be showcased.

“This, is So’Unga The Demon Sword or the Sword of Hell and Death, World Conquest, literally anything with negative connotation is this sword. With one swing of this sword, 1000 dead souls can be raised to do it’s wielders bidding and the sword can only be properly used by it’s true owner. Anyone else who attempts to use the sword will be overcome with it’s evil and led to take their own life. It’s incredibly powerful and can only be defeated by combining the power of the other two swords I crafted for my other two children Tenseiga, The Sword of Life or Heaven and Tessaiga, The Sword of Destruction. Tenseiga has the power to revive 1000 people in one swing and Tessaiga can slay 100 demons in one swing.”

Hashirama, and even Madara, clapped for the swords. “Well, that sounds just wonderful.” Hashirama sniffled.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah yeah, alright let’s move on.” Saigen said banishing the sword. “Intros are done, before we assign you to trainers and teams we’re going to analyze your abilities with the eligible trainers and see who and where you’d be better aligned. We’ll do this by groups. The young ladies Tayuya, Karin, Konan, Kaori, Mikoto, and Mito will go first.”

“Why are there not more girls?!” Kaori yelled.

“Because not enough of y’all died in your previous world.” Saigen smiled as everyone else cleared the arena floor for them and Saigen. “Since there’s an even number of you, we’ll do this in teams. Kaori and Mito, Mikoto and Karin, and Konan and Tayuya. In a minute this arena will turn into a jungle. Your objective is get through the jungle to the other side and capture a flag waiting for you at the top of a mountain. There will be enemies for you to defeat in the jungle and before you capture the flag you and your partner must display a certain set of skills. Each of you are required to kill an enemy using taijutsu, each of you are required to use at least basic jutsu so that we can get a sense of what chakra nature you have, and you both have to work together to solve a riddle that will help you find where your flag is hiding at the top of mountain. Do you understand?” Each of the six women nodded. “Alright ladies, this is a time event. You have 10 minutes.” Saigen left the ladies in the arena to quickly stretch and prepare themselves. As he joined the others in the viewing box above them, the field turned into a jungle before their eyes. The mountain top was seeable over the large trees, but there wasn’t a flag in site so they were hidden quite well.

“Are you ready?” Saigen’s voice boomed over a speaker. The women gave a resounding ‘yes’ and readied themselves for takeoff. “3...2…1..BEGIN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Training day will be continued in the next chapter!


	8. Training Day II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter was a nuisance, I’m not a fight scene writer, I’m not too much of a work out enthusiast so this is what you get. A bunch of challenge themed challenges and some bs.

Chapter E.i.g.h.t: Training Day II

Tayuya was feeling particularly pissy about this challenge. She didn’t know shit about her partner nor did she know shit about the other girls. Tayuya also knew that taijutsu was not her strong suit. While she wasn’t completely incompetent in the art, she was a distance fighter and tried to keep herself that way. Apparently, Konan was as well. So, when these big black faceless figures approached them in the jungle Konan and Tayuya relied heavily on hiding within their surroundings for surprise attacks to get them through the first fight.

Their second meet was left to Konan to perform her usage of jutsu and clear a path for them towards the mountain. The time in the sky told them they have a tight three minutes left to scale the mountain, solve the riddle and still find their flag. It seemed almost impossible, but again Konan’s peculiar jutsu’s enabled them to fly quickly to the top of the mountain where Mito and Kaori were trying to solve the riddle. The four ladies looked at each other for the slightest second before turning their attention to Mikoto and Karin who were climbing over the edge of the mountain now.

Once all three teams were started on their riddles it seemed like a race to beat each other. The riddle was the same which probably meant there was only one flag which meant only one team could win. With two minutes left Tayuya was feeling pressured and Tayuya hated feeling pressured.

‘Normally you can find me at the top of a pole, today however I am feeling quite bold. I am not exactly in plain sight, but if you push with all your might you may find me with great delight.’ Each of the six women stared at the riddle.

“What the fuck is this bullshit?” Karin growled.

“Really though?” Tayuya agreed. “This damn riddle doesn't make sense!” She yelled.

“Hey!” Kaori snapped. “Cool it. Think about what the fucking riddle is saying.”

“You have to dissect it piece by piece.” Mito nodded. “We already know we’re looking for a flag. The flags here in Saigon are flown on top of poles.”

“The flag is feeling bold.” Konan muttered. “The location is in this riddle somewhere. Something on this mountain is bold.” She stated. The six women stood and their eyes quickly scanned the area for anything that looked a little too out of place, but everything seemed normal.

“Bold.” Mikoto whispered to herself. “Bold, bold, bold. A bold spot on a mountain. Or,” she began as she stared closer at the large rocks. “A boulder. Think about it, wherever it is, we have to move something to find it. There are lots of boulders on this terrain and we would have to push hard to find them.”

“Start pushing!” They scattered and started pushing whatever boulder seemed big enough to hide a flag behind or under it. There was less than a minute left when Tayuya began pushing against a new boulder and realized it wasn’t as easy as the others had been. She needed help. Konan helped. Eventually Kaori helped and so on and with all of them pushing together the boulder rolled slowly over to reveal a golden flag under it. Karin grabbed the flag as the timer ran out and the alarm sounded to tell them that the challenge was over. The area around them began reverting back to its original arena like look.

“Good jobs ladies. Majority of you displayed all of the tactics you needed to, others of you showed more proficiency with one task than the other. However, at the end of the challenge you managed to help each other solve the riddle and capture your flag.” Saigen announced over the loudspeaker. “Give yourselves a hand, you did well.” They did as was instructed a clapped for themselves and each other before they were allowed to come up and join the others in the viewing box.

“Next up the men. Now gentleman as sure you’ve realized one of you is missing. Obito Uchiha, he’s fine in case anyone was actually wondering he’s just recently found out he’s allergic to parsley flakes. He’ll get caught up when he doesn’t look like a puffer fish anymore. Now, Madara, Hashirama, Shisui, Hidan, Itachi, Fugaku, Deidara, and Zetsu. Your challenge will be different.” He said as the new eight competitors filed down to the arena floor. “Keeping the same teams of two, Madara and Zetsu, Hashirama and Itachi, Hidan and Shisui, and Deidara with Fugaku.”

“A fucking Uchiha, hn?” Deidara growled.

“There’s a lot of these Uchiha bastards here so we’re all gonna have to work with them eventually. Anyways, your challenge will test your speed and thinking skills. You will be facing off in a tournament of sorts. Your arena will be a maze. You have to find your way through the maze while collecting a series of items that you find. The items can be pieces of a picture or letters. Whatever you find, grab it because you may need it to complete your puzzle at the end of the maze. Some of these pieces you may have to get from other teams. There are eight pieces to complete the puzzle and only 19 pieces in the maze. Once you’ve collected your eight pieces you have to scale over the back wall of the maze and put your puzzle together on the other side. Does everyone understand?”

The eight men nodded as the arena changed before them so that they were all positioned at the entrance of a maze. Everyone in the viewing box had a perfect view of the maze’s entrance and the exit. The four teams aligned themselves to one of the entrances.

“3...2...1...BEGIN!” Saigen called as the alarm sounded. The men dashed into the maze and began the heated search for the puzzle pieces.

Itachi and Hashirama had already figured out that they would have to work together with another team and share their findings to be able to complete the puzzle so their first objective while picking up pieces was to seek out the team of Hidan and Shisui. Hidan was a fireball and he wasn't liable to work well with too many people, but Itachi knew him well enough to reason with him to a certain degree. Shisui was smart himself so he would be easy enough to convince.

Madara hated his partner to begin with. Zetsu being the reason he was dead to even begin with and it made his blood boil knowing he had to work with him. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t need Zetsu and he damn sure didn't need anyone else. So, he moved along throughout the maze grabbing as many letters and pictures as his eyes could spot and when he crossed paths with Fugaku and Deidara he made sure to make it clear to them that he fully intended to win the tournament by spitting a massive fireball in their direction to block them from reaching a nearby piece.

Had Deidara known that Madara wouldn’t kill him in the blink of an eye he would have told him to fuck off, but considering that he wasn’t stupid, he decided to ignore it and he and Fugaku quickly changed courses. Halfway through the maze they found Itachi, Hashirama, Hidan, and Shisui. Lord first instructed them to work together to finish the puzzle and because of his utmost respect for his Hokage he told Deidara they would work together with the other four. The six of them knew it was already a lost cause to try working with Madara as he was not interested in teamwork so the six of them sought their way through the maze to the back wall. It was a large smooth wall that require great chakra control to climb, or in Deidara’s case, a clay bird and large tree that Hashirama sprouted for the others to use. Zetsu upon seeing the tree used it to his advantage and merged himself with the overgrown plant to quickly scale the wall while his partner, if Madara could still be considered such, quickly sprinted the length of the wall unperturbed.

Once they were all over the wall, the puzzle was the last thing to be solved. Zetsu tried to offer suggestions but was quickly silenced by a vicious glare from his former partner, so he sat quietly and let Madara do the thinking. They quickly figured that there weren’t enough pictures to actually make something but some of the pictures had letters on the backs of them.

“M, R, T, E, W, K, A, O.” Madara muttered quietly to himself. “Oh for fucks sake.” He quickly rearranged the letters before him to spell out the word ‘TEAMWORK.’ The same result the others had come to. The alarm sounded and the challenge was done.

“Alright gentleman.” Saigen’s voice began, “congratulations on solving your puzzles. As you can see the answer to this challenge was ‘teamwork.’ Itachi and Hashirama, good job for immediately figuring that out. As you can all see, even though Madara basically worked alone after isolating himself from everyone else he still found the correct answer. Just goes to show, you can make it alone, but it’s always easier with a little bit of help. Give yourselves a round of applause.”

“The last challenge. Pein, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Kisame. You will once again be working in teams, pairs of two. Kakuzu and Kisame and Pein and Sasori. Your challenge will test your speed and thinking skills. Your playing field will be one that moves. While standing on a teetering plane you have to find a way to dodge oncoming obstacles. Things like barrels and shit. While dodging these, you have to find a way to make it to the other side, retrieve a flag and bring it back to the center to get a total of ten flags. Jutsu’s won’t help you in this challenge, you need to focus on chakra control. Because this challenge will be a bit more difficult to figure out, you all have two chances. Your first run will be your trial run, so figure out what doesn’t work and what does work fast. Any questions?”

No questions were asked so the four of them readied themselves as the playing field once again changed. It was a flat surface and if they needed to keep it balanced then they all agreed to take one of the four corners.

“3...2...1...BEGIN!” As the alarm sounded the ground beneath them began shifting and the plane became unsturdy, like it was resting on a circular ball underneath of their distributed weight was barely keeping it right side up. Pein observed the shaky setting. Kakuzu and Kisame, the largest two of the four were in corners directly opposite making the left side heavier. Sasori was small and barely weighed anything so his side was rising higher than the other sides and Pein’s side was teetering towards Kisame.

Sasori was quickly thinking of an idea to get to the flags. It was clear that two of them have to grab three flags instead of just two since there were ten. If they all ran towards the middle the weight would be balanced in the center, the problem was running from end to end to get the flags and get back. They weren’t allowed to just grab the flags next to them because that was too easy. If they all ran at the same time and then to the middle, it would stay balanced. Right? Well shit, they had to try something.

“Lord Pein,” Sasori smiled, “I believe I have an idea.”

“Enlighten me.” Pein said.

“Instead of having one person run to the other end while the other three try to keep it balanced, why don’t we try running together to grab a flag and then run to the middle together? It’ll help us gather flags faster.”

Pein mulled over the idea in his head. They had to try something because they couldn’t just stand there forever. “We’ll try it.” He decided. “We have to make sure to move together though. Slowly so we don’t throw this thing anymore off balance than we already have.” The other three agreed quietly and watched Pein for permission to move. As soon as he took the first step they all began stepping all over the place and the field became even more unstable. Kisame stepped too far onto Sasori’s side tilting the whole field far up and sending all of them toppling off and onto the ground.

Pein was almost speechless. He wasn’t surprised that they had failed at least one of their attempts, but he just thought they would have taken more than three steps before having to start over. “Really Kisame?” He heard Kakuzu hiss. “You walk towards the smallest piece of shit on the board?”

“No one gave any particular direction, I was just moving.” Kisame shrugged.

“Alright we need to do some serious re-evaluating. Did anyone learn anything from that?” Pein asked.

“You have two minutes the re-strategize by the way.” Saigen called.

“Yeah, we need better instructions.” Kakuzu said.

“We need more balance.” Sasori hissed vehemently. “Instead of you two big idiots getting on one side together why not pair with Pein or I?”

“Sasori is right. Kakuzu, you and I will take one side and Kisame, you’ll take the other side with Sasori.”

“That’s still not even.” Kisame frowned. “You and Kakuzu weigh more than Sasori and I and you and I would still weigh more than Kakuzu and Sasori. Why the hell is he even on this challenge!?”

“Kisame is right, the kid has to go.” Kakuzu decided.

“Kid?” Sasori cringed. “And where exactly are you going to put me?”

“You’ll just have to run for flags.” Pein said. “Kisame, Kakuzu and I will each take a corner like last time. Except this time, they’ll stand in diagonal corners. You run to the opposite end and grab all the flags on that side then run to the middle.”

“1 minute and 15 seconds left.”

“We’ll have Sasori start in the middle then so that it doesn’t matter which side he runs to first.” Kakuzu nodded.

“I don’t like being a guinea pig.” Sasori said in a bland tone.

“28 seconds left.”

“It’s for the team, remember?”

“Fuck this team. You all just voted me off.”

“We don't have time for this. Take your places. “ Pein said. The four men pulled themselves back up and took their places on the field with Sasori in the middle. “Remember, channel your chakra to your feet to help you stay put better.”

“3...2...1...BEGIN.” The alarm sounded for a second time and once again the plane lifted and became slightly unstable due to the empty corner. They would just have to be careful. Once Sasori had his chakra channeled to his feet he moved to one side and began taking flags. No one had said the flags were tied down which made it more difficult and also made the plane more unsteady the longer he was on one side. Halfway through untying the third flag Sasori sat down and slid back into the middle to place the two he had managed to secure and then moved to the opposite side to level the field and get a few of those flags.

He wasn't certain which side was harder to do because while the right side tilted faster due to less weight distribution, the left side also sank pretty fast too.

He had managed to get three flags from the right side transferred to the middle before he slid back down to the left side to finish taking the flags over there but only managed to get two more untied before having to roll back over to the other side. Five flags in the middles And five more to go. Ever so often Kakuzu would shift a little bit to the empty corner to help Sasori balance it out when he slid over to the right side and then the larger man would quickly step back into his own corner.

Two more flags untied and the right side was done. Sasori transferred those flags to the middle and then went to tackle the remaining flag on the left side. After untying the knotted rope he carefully slid his way back into the middle and placed the tenth flag down to end the challenge. The buzzer sounded and the arena changed back to the flat landscape from before.

“Congratulations guys, you figured out a way to work together and help Sasori achieve all ten flags. You each contributed ideas to your team and helped pull off a win. Sasori, even though you initially didn’t want to be the guinea pig you sucked it up and put your team’s objectives first anyways. Give yourselves a round of applause.” They did and slowly everyone else joined them back on the arena floor.

“Once again, congratulations to all of you. You showed some impressive skills today and you all managed to complete your challenges. However, the day isn’t over yet. Our next step will be one on one battle rounds with each other and then you will go head to head with some of my own pre-trained fighters. After we will decide where to place you in terms of your skill level.”

“The matches have already been paired in no particular strategy and in no particular order. Madara vs Pein, Konan vs Kaori, Shisui vs Zetsu, Itachi vs Hidan, Fugaku vs Sasori, Karin vs. Tayuya, Kakuzu vs Hashirama, Mito vs Mikoto, and Kisame vs Deidara.”

Karin looked over at her opponent. Tayuya was fiesta and a dirty player, Karin would have to be dirtier. If she managed to survive her round against Tayuya who would she have the unfortunate displeasure of facing in the next round? She sighed inwardly to herself. The first hour had already been long enough but the rest of this day was going to severely drag.

o.O.o

Tayuya hated losing at anything; which is why she came at Karin with force and no mercy. She wouldn’t say she decimated the other redhead because for her to have so few skills in taijutsu, the little bitch was crafty. However her next opponent wasn’t all that easy to handle. For all the luck in the fucking universe she had to fight Kallisa Igarashi.

Kallisa was tall like the rest of her family. She stood at at least 5’9 and unlike Tayuya and the rest of the shinobi women, she was heavier which made her blows land harder. Kallisa’s eyes also did this strange thing were they turned completely black, sclera and all and in that state it’s like she could anticipate everything you were going to do.

The girl was ridiculously flexible and fast and by the time she let Tayuya finish wearing herself out the fight was over and Kallisa herself hadn’t broken a sweat. It was an embarrassing loss, but the plus side is that just about all the shinobi lost to their second opponent. Tayuya was soaking her aching muscles in the bath of her apartment now while she tried to relax and read over the papers she had been given at the end of the day. More fucking rules for training. The 24 hour training day had Tayuya incredibly stressed out. The day began at 12AM with a 3 hour long run/jog. At 3:30AM they would arrive at a member gym facility and begin a warm up intensive which was 4 hours of stretching and cardio. 8AM to 9AM was trainee off time. 10AM trainee reports back to gym for second round of intensives (endurance and lifting) for 5 hours. 3PM-6PM is trainee off time. 6:30PM you report back again for your final round of intensives (boxing) for 4 hours. 10:45 to 11PM is aerial cool down and 11:15 PM to 12AM is personal cool down.

Along with the 24 hour day, they were given their general training routine. Monday was cardio day and everyone had to complete 4 hours of cardio by the end of the day. Tuesday was endurance and lifting day. You had to complete 4 hours of weightlifting and endurance strengthening by the end of the day. Wednesday was an off day for class where they would all meet in one of the lecture rooms at the Syndicate and learn about Saigon, magic, training and battle routines, such and such. Thursday was the AM free train day where you could complete any kind of physical exercise you wanted for 4 hours before noon hit. One Friday every month they were all to meet at the training grounds for a training tournament where they would spar against random opponents. Every other Friday was director advised training and they got every weekend off.

Tayuya repeatedly muttered to herself that it was easier than it sounded. That she could handle all of this. But she figured this was one of those ‘easier said than done’ things.

She eased herself out of her bathtub and wrapped herself in a towel while the water drained. Tomorrow morning she was supposed to meet up with Kagura, her new trainer and Karin her teammate. She didn't know if they would fighting again but if they were she would make sure to learn everything she could from Kagura. The last thing she wanted was to get beaten by someone else again.

The next morning when her cell alarm began blaring at 8AM she groggily rolled out of bed and stumbled around her room to find some clothes to put on. She pulled on a pair of black pro spandex shorts and a tie dye shirt. Saigon’s weather was beautiful in the fall. Not cold enough to need heavy jackets, but still warm enough to wear shorts. Kagura had texted her and Karin in a separate group and told them to meet her at the Sweet Room. A small shop that specialized in serving anything and everything with chocolate. Karin and Kagura were already deep into conversation when Tayuya arrived and it almost made her want to turn heel and leave.

She didn’t know either of them all that well, but she knew that they were becoming increasingly close with each other and Kagura’s older sister Kanna. Tayuya resented the idea of being put second to Karin because she was a fan favorite, but before she could leave Kagura spotted her and waved her over. She didn’t make an effort to hide the roll of her eyes as she strolled towards the table and plopped down in the seat across from them.

“Yo.” Kagura said with a small smirk and a nod of her head as a greeting.

“Yo.” Tayuya replied dryly. “What are we doing in here?”

“In the Sweet Room? What, you don’t wanna be here? This place is amazing. All the chocolate you could ever possibly want.”

“It’s gross.” Tayuya growled.

“Well you’re crazy, but I won’t judge you because we’re all crazy. However, miss thang, if you must know, we’re here to get to know each other better and to talk about some of the things our team will be doing together. I may seem very calm right now, but I’m low key excited about having you guys. This is my first official team ya know?”

“Oh gosh, you’re gonna fuck us up, aren’t you?” Karin said shaking her head disapprovingly.

“Oh most definitely. But you’re both gonna be badasses by this time next year...or sooner, if possible.”

“What exactly can you do that’s gonna help us?” Tayuya questioned.

“Hm,” Kagura thought, “well for starters, my personal trainer when I joined was Queen Hanna. Until she died that is; then I was taken under Saigen’s wing and he helped perfect my craft. So not only was I born to be a weapon of mass destruction, I have been trained by two of our strongest members.”

“You were born to be a weapon...of mass...destruction?” The darker haired woman shrugged. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Kagura was created to kill the enemies of her creator.” Karin clarified.

“Right. Okay so cool, you’ve had a lot of training and experience. How can you help me though? Do you even know anything about chakra and jutsus?”

“Yes I do. We have been training ourselves over the last few months on the basic concept of chakra, chakra types, and jutsus. I’m not gonna lie to you and tell you that I can help you figure out what chakra type you have or tell you how to perform any and every jutsu, we have people for that, I’m simply here to help you shape and control it. Chakra works like magic in a sense. You have to be able to tame it and use it how you want to. You have to focus and center it, I know how to do that.”

“Tayuya, I know you probably don’t trust me or anyone else here for that matter, but let’s be completely honest. You and I fall very low on the bracket of skill when we’re being compared to everyone else. We were both orphans who had to learn on our own and what we did learn was always to the benefit of someone else..Orochimaru. When we’re being pitted against the rest of the elitist members, we’re even worse off. It’s like we’re literally lower than genin in this world and if we try running missions here without the proper training, we’re gonna be killed.”

“Karin is right.” Kagura agreed. “Who did you idolize most in your life?” Tayuya didn’t even need to think about that for long.

“Lord Orochimaru. He was everything.” She admitted. “Right. Orochimaru was a powerful man then?” Kagura confirmed.

“Of course.” Both girls agreed.

“So then right here, right now, I’m giving you the opportunity to try and be better than him. Do you want that? Or would you still rather be the lapdog?” The redhead thought about it. Orochimaru wasn't necessarily awful to her but that didn't mean he was always great either. People feared Lord Orochimaru and his power and Tayuya always admired that. She always fantasized about him maybe taking her under his wing and teaching her everything he knew. But he never did. He chose Kimimaro as his chosen one and thought she refused to physically show any signs of hurt and dislike, it didn’t mean that she didn't feel that on the inside. And then of course even though she hated to admit it, Karin too was correct. She didn’t get killed twice just to get a third fucking chance and die again; so if she had to do this, she wanted to do it the fullest.

“I’m gonna be a bitch and I’ll probably always give you hell with a side of shit, but I suppose I’ll accept your offer.”

o.O.o

Naruto sat in his office alone in the dark with only the moonlight to help him see. He had been working tirelessly on this mystery and it was visibly taking a toll on the orange hokage. His eyes were permanently rimmed red, the bags under his eyes were heavier than any boulder he’d ever lifted, and his 5 o'clock shadow was starting to look more and more like a 10 o’clock shadow. He refused to quit until he figured it out however, but it just wasn't making sense.

Shikamaru, Gods bless him, wasn’t upset with Naruto over being fired. He knew the blonde tried his best to save him, but well, politics. To prove that he wasn’t upset over it, he offered Naruto a small hand in his mystery, but the hokage wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go down the route.

“Think about it Naruto,” Shikamaru had said, “it makes the most sense right now. That woman disappeared without a trace. She was taken and no one ever saw her again. At first it just seemed like ill fate but now it’s coming together like a puzzle. Karin was a scientist right? She worked directly for Orochimaru. She knows all of his and Kabuto’s tricks. She probably knows how to make clones and reanimate the dead. Now all of sudden, members of the former Akatsuki are going missing? Not a coincidence.”

“Shikamaru it doesn’t make sense. None of that makes sense. If Karin did this, if she’s really behind all of this, why fake her own kidnapping? Why lie to Sasuke and her team? She may have been incredibly smart yeah, but I don’t believe she could pull that off.”

“Well,” the beady eyed man shrugged, “maybe someone else is lying to you too. Maybe Sasuke knows where she’s at. This whole thing is a story fabricated by Taka to keep you off their trail. Maybe he’s after his brother. Maybe they’re trying to take over the world again. I don’t know Naruto, but it’s not looking good for your friend right now.”

Naruto had been appalled. Sasuke had been working extensively to prove his loyalty to Konoha and Shikamaru had the audacity. He sent him home after that for lack of knowing what to say. It was too late though because the idea was already imbedded into his head. Not that Sasuke was guilty of anything of course, but that maybe just maybe Karin had something to do with it. She would never include Sasuke in whatever plans she had because she knew he wouldn't want any part of it. He did say he was working on repentance or whatever so pulling a stunt like that wouldn’t put him in a better position.

He would never in his right mind be able to bring this up to Sasuke. A fight would probably ensue and then Sasuke would run away for a few more years without talking to him again and Naruto refused to let him go again. But something had to be done. So he began drafting a letter, a warrant for the missing Akatsuki and Karin herself. He sent copies of the letter to each village head along with his theory and the conclusion that though he didn’t know exactly what she was planning, she was to be considered dangerous.

Now he just had to hope that something proved true within this heinous theory or he was going to have one extremely pissed Uchiha on his hands.

o.O.o

“Look, I’m not saying that you’re a shitty person in general, I’m just saying that you kind of sound like an asshole.” Saigen calmly explained to an increasingly agitated Madara. For some reason today, when Saigen had called him and badgered him about going for a cup of coffee or two he had agreed. And when he realized that Hashirama was apart of this outing he knew he should’ve turned back and went home, but something had possessed him to stay. Now he was thoroughly regretting his decision. The two of them were getting along far too well and when Hashirama started pulling the ‘good old times’ stories out, Madara just wanted to kill them both and slink away. The only upside to this was that Saigen had chosen Karin’s cafe and she was subjected to serving them whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. He had decided he would take his wrath out on her but bothering her every time he felt the need to stab someone.

“Ya know, he’s kind of always been this way. I don’t know why either, it’s just in his DNA I guess.” Hashirama nodded.

“I hear ya, but let me say this Maddy,”

“Red headed waitress!” He called.

“You don’t have to be evil.” Saigen finished. “I was born into a powerful demon clan. My family ate people for like centuries, and then my father fell in love with our main snack. I wasn’t happy about it all and it only created more strife between us.”

“I know you hear me.” Madara growled in Karin’s direction as she tried valiantly to ignore him while he also ignored Saigen.

“Our relationship was never all that great anyways because he always thought I was ‘more sinister than necessary’, but breaking my mother’s heart? Yeah, that was the line. Anyways, after like maybe another century or so I finally realized that he was right. I didn’t have to be as evil as my ancestors.”

“Karin!”

“What!? God dammit, go away!” Karin yelled startling some of her customers.

“I’m in need of a refill. You are the literally the worst waitress I have ever encountered. How do you even still have this job?” He snarled.

“Maybe I’m not a fucking waitress, I’m a barista.”

“Well get to your bar and fix me another drink.”

“I don’t really like to give my old man credit though because when I tell you he was the worst father, I mean he was the worst.”

“Really?” Hashirama asked heavily intrigued in Saigen’s story. “He seems such a nice man.”

“Yes, that’s because you’re not me or Sesshomaru.” Saigen muttered. Madara picked up on the twinge of bitterness in Saigen’s voice then. It was very evident that the relationship wasn’t a good one and for all the happiness that the large man bore within him, Madara finally saw bit of different emotion within him.

“Here,” Karin grumbled setting a fresh cup of matcha in front of Madara. “The Igarashi tab is cut off. I didn’t here to cater solely to you guys.”

“Ohh c’mon.” Saigen wailed, “I thought we were such good friends Kari?”

“We’ll be better friends if you stop coming by here during rush hour.”

“Fine.” He huffed. “Take em off the streets, help them find a place to stay, feed them, love them, and this what they do. Kick you out before you’ve finished having your caffeine kick.” The redhead merely rolled her eyes at the elder man’s dramatics and went back to her own work.

“You don’t spend much time with own son,” Madara commented after an approving sip of his tea. “How can you judge your father?” At this point Madara wasn’t truthfully curious, he was more so just trying to rile the bigger man up. He liked seeing other people be as angry as him sometimes.

“I can admit that I am without a doubt never going to win the father of the year prize, and my son may even hate my guts, but regardless, I love him with every fiber of my being and that will never change. That is the difference between my father and I.”

“Why is it that your son hates you?” Hashirama pondered. “If you don’t mind me asking that is.” Saigen shifted a bit uncomfortably in his seat, a move that only Madara’s skilled eyes were able to pick up on. He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled a bit at the question.

“Eh well, I guess you’ll hear of it sooner or later. I uh, I wasn’t there for Kato when he was growing up, Namely because I was dead, but he’s been made aware of my actions that caused my death and he’s never quite forgiven me for him blindly admiring me for so long.”

“Mmm, what did you do?” Karin asked leaning over her bar.

“Oh?” Saigen said craning his neck to look at her. “Now you’re not too busy to talk to me?”

“Sure.” She shrugged resting her chin in her hand.

“Yeah, yeah. Kato and I simply had a disagreement on the way we chose to handle certain situations. I folded and admitted he was right and his methods were better. I even spent some time away making up for my irrational choices. He’s just hard to please is all.”

“Sounds like a bullshit explanation to me.” Karin muttered behind him.

“Sounds like the get the hell out of adult business.” Madara said.

“I’m an adult!”

“You’re not nearly on the same level as the three of us, so again, child, go back to your place.” The woman sucked in a sharp breath of air through her nostrils and slowly exhaled. “You’re lucky I’m in anger management or I’d have words for you.” She seethed.

“Don’t worry dear,” Hashirama smiled, “you have blossomed into a beautiful and mature young woman regardless of what grumpy here says about you.”

“You just met her, Hashirama.” Said grumpy man groaned.

“Yeah well it’s the thought that counts.” The brunette countered.

“How is anger management working for you Karin?” Saigen asked. It was his idea that she seek outside help for her temper to begin with so it only felt right that he check in on her from time to time. The redhead didn’t offer much of a response; a simple shrug and an ‘I guess it’s fine’ was all.

“Maddy, I think you should seek outside help for your anger issues as well.” Saigen went on to say next. The raven haired man quirked a fine eyebrow in response. Him, anger management? Never.

“I don’t need someone who knows nothing about me to tell me about myself.” He responded.

“I felt the same way. It worked for me. I won’t tell you it was the be all end all to my issues but every little bit helps ya know.”

“So just to review, today we learned that your father thinks you’re trash, your son thinks you’re trash, and you are capable of doing more than smiling and laughing all day.” Madara said matter of factly.

“Yes that sounds about right,” Saigen nodded, “Oh um, I also do backflips for snacks.”

o.O.o

After being released from prison Roegan found herself in quite a bind. Her family was well aware of latest stint in prison and refused to let her live with them again. So she decided to go with her next best option. She had friends right? Her friend Amber. She would bunk with her. Or so she thought until Amber ignored all her phone calls for a week straight. When she saw the blonde in person the other girl she was told to ‘fuck off.’ She checked in with every other friend she thought she still had within her cubus faction and found she was indeed alone.

Whatever. So she had never spent a day in her life doing things for and by herself. That didn’t matter. She would survive. She would surprise herself, her parents, everyone. She would get an apartment, a great job, and then rub it in all their faces. Luckily for her, Saigon liked to make that homelessness didn’t become a trending apart of their population, so finding an institution to help house her was easy. The hard part about it was keeping up with the payments when she couldn’t get a job.

The opportunities were out there, but Roegan wasn’t good at ever applying herself to anything other being a criminal. She half expected these jobs to give themselves to her and then do everything that needed to be done herself as well. After months of moving back and forth between halfway homes and jobs she was officially worn out and at her limits. She had no money, no food, no clean clothes, nothing. The winter was hitting fast and she had thought that her luck would only continue to get worse before it got better. So when she stumbled into a cozy coffee shopping hoping to score a free cup of cocoa and came face to face with her old prison cell mate she was elated. Karin seemed to be doing well for herself for the most part and she was nice enough to give Roegan a large cocoa and a chicken wrap.

“You look like hell Roegan. What have you been doing?” The redhead asked.

“Eh not much, just, hopping around. I’m trying this new thing called being homeless. It’s shitty if you were wondering.” The brunette said in between mouth fulls.

“Yeah, I know. What I don’t know is how you’re homeless. Rent is extremely inexpensive here. What the hell are you doing?”

“Jobs are hard.” She sighed. Karin allowed Roegan to sit in the backroom of the coffee shop and she would occasionally bring her a warm drink. When Roegan asked how much longer she would be Karin said they would be here until roughly 11 because she was closing. Apparently Karin was being promoted to a shift and tonight would be her first night leading a close. So, Roegan waited out the next few hours as patiently as she could before the shop was closed and Karin made Roegan help her barista wash dishes while she counted the money for the day. When it was all finally done Karin brought Roegan back to her apartment with her so she could stay the night.

She was living in The Haven, in a very nice apartment. She was directed to one of the guest rooms where Karin gave her a fresh change of clothes and some towels and washcloths to bathe with. The shower was very refreshing and she was grateful that she was going to have a real bed to sleep on tonight. The next morning Karin told her that she would allow Roegan to move in with her but she would have to do her part. She had one week to get a job. Karin didn’t particularly care where but it had to be somewhere. She was responsible for paying half of Karin’s rent every month which would be $200 for her.

This round of job hunting went about the same as the first round. Absolutely nowhere. Karin wasn’t happy and she fully expected her to kick her out, but she didn’t.

“Really? You’re gonna let me live here for free?!” Roegan explained happily.

“Wha-no, idiot!” Karin huffed. “I’m giving you more week to get a job. I don’t give freebies Roegan. I don’t believe in it. I’ve had to work for everything and I mean fucking everything that I have now and have had in my life. I didn’t just get everything I wanted handed to me like you did. If you were anyone else I wouldn’t have even let you stay here. But, because you were nice to me and quite frankly, you helped me survive prison while you were there...I’m trying to repay the favor.”

“I’m not gonna let up on you and I’m gonna keep pushing you to be more independent because I know you can. There’s a self serve mini store down the street on the strip. I went grocery shopping there last week and they’re looking for a new overlooker. All you’d be doing is stocking the shelves, making sure nobody steals shit, and making sure the self check outs don’t malfunction.”

“You, you really have that much faith in me?” Roegan asked.

“Don’t say it like that, it sounds..soft. I like you Roe, I don’t want you to fail out of life. Especially when our government goes to extensive lengths to make life here very fucking easy to navigate. Get it together Roegan. One week or you’re out.”

Karin was right. Life in Saigon was only as hard as you make it. So why was she always so hellbent on making it ten times harder for herself. She was almost 26 years old now and if she didn’t start taking some initiative in her life, there was no telling what would happen to her. It wasn’t easy as first, the first step was actually applying herself to keeping her job at the self serve market. It wasn’t too much work and her shifts weren’t ridiculously long. It was a good, very small start, for her to learn self sufficiency. Fuck being responsible was hard.


	9. This is What Guilt Looks Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another obnoxiously long chapter

Chapter N.i.n.e: This is What Guilt Looks Like

It had been just shy over two years since Schaeunna Nez lost everything near and dear to her. Her husband, her siblings, parents, and most importantly, her child. She didn’t think she had anything left to lose after that but soon, her pride for being Lycan followed suit and her will to live was close behind it. She was no longer the rowdy and rambunctious young soul that she started off as. She resented her pack gatherings, she resented the free runs at night, she resented the faces of each and every one of her neighbors. She resented everything about everything and there were only four people to blame for her suffering and misery. One, the great elder chief for forbidding her to have a family again and be happy. Two, the red haired demon who slew her family. Three, the old bat who turned cheek and protected that wench. And four, her present chief for allowing a mockery be made of her people.

The winter this year was colder than usual. The snow was falling heavily and most people in the reservation were staying inside, only coming out for the most important things. Like to go to the market for food and such. Schaeunna also made it a habit to stay inside next to the fireplace of her not so cozy little home, but today she felt almost compelled to go for a walk. She slipped into her thick furry snow boots and the heaviest jacket she could find and stepped out into the cold white fluff. It was always a beautiful scenery to be quite honest. The houses that were topped with a smooth blanket of snow with little tracks in them. Years ago she would have loved this.

She started her trek towards the entrance of Lycia. The wind whistling and whipping past her face. Her eyes were squinted against the harsh air. Her lips becoming chapped as the moisture was draining from her body. All communities and neighborhoods in Saigon, regardless of the city, had gate guards. They didn’t just let anyone in for the sake of the people. She eyed the men at the gate, not bothering to smile or nod. Just a look of acknowledgement was fine. Once outside the gate she went left into the woods and kept walking without too many thoughts about where she was going.

She didn’t know quite how long she’d been walking before her fingers and toes started to go numb. She only stopped when she reached the clearing. Just before the line that disconnected them from the rest of the world. Just out in front of her, laying in the snow was a woman. That woman. That demon with the red hair. Her messy hair sprawled underneath her like blood in the snow. It didn’t take her long at all to realize she was being watched and she sat up and turned her head to gaze back at Schaeunna. Completely unfazed with a blank expression on her face.

The red haired woman held Schaeunna’s gaze for what felt like years before she pushed herself up to her feet. What was she doing here? So close to her home? The heat began to flow throw her body again. Her Lycan blood boiling in her veins as the bloody flashbacks came rushing to her mind.

“You.” She breathed. “Why?” She stepped towards Karin feeling the hot tears pricking her eyes. “Why have you come here? What more can you take from me?”

Karin’s head cocked to the side. She immediately figured that she must’ve done something to hurt this woman in her past, but like always she didn’t know what. This woman, she looked familiar though. She couldn’t quite place it however. She’d seen her before.

“You awful, evil, bitch.” The woman spat angrily.

“Look lady.” Karin sighed preparing to dish out another apology. “I’m sorry. I know I hurt you, but I, I don’t remember an-

“Excuse me? You can’t...remember?” She hissed cutting her off. “You’re sorry but? Fuck your apology! You don’t mean it!” Schaeunna continued her slow strides toward Karin until she was only a mere inches from her face. “Look at me.” Her hand latched itself into the roots of Karin’s hair, holding her head steady.

“Look at me.” She repeated. “You can’t do this. You’re not allowed to do this. To ruin my life, my happiness. You can’t just take my family from me, my son, and go on living your life like it never happened.”

Karin’s ruby eyes were wide and staring into the deep brown eyes of her captor. She took in all of Schaeunna’s features. Her soft brown skin and her long, thick curly brown hair. Her face that was littered with freckles.

“He was just a baby. My baby.” She whispered with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Do you remember? Do you remember crashing into my home. The explosion? He was killed in the debris. Do you know the agony I felt?”

“Please stop.” Karin choked. Schaeunna held her hold on the redhead. Glaring at her, staring into the very depths of her soul. Her eyes rendered Karin motionless, she felt utterly powerless against her gaze and it was like an awful reminder of how weak she used to be as a child. The sights around her became foggy and Karin started to feel lightheaded. Schaeunna’s voice started to fade in and out in Karin’s ears and before she knew it she had collapsed to the snowy ground and everything went black.

o.O.o

When Karin woke up she didn’t wake up in the real world. She was somewhere in her subconscious again, like when she had undergone transcendence. She supposed that she would be meeting Valkyrie again. She hadn’t seen the woman since that first meet and she barely ever heard her rumbling around in her head anymore.

Karin stood up, the soles of her shoes standing on nothing but darkness. The sounds of her steps echoed loudly and even though it was her own head, she felt uneasy. The mind could play cruel tricks on a person.

Despite not really knowing where she was going, she continued her trek into the black abyss aimlessly until she felt the overly warm sensation of Valkyrie in her fiery heat. She couldn’t see the woman immediately but bit by bit, her ghostly image appeared to Karin. She was just sitting there like Karin assumed she always did. The same expression on her face. Severe discontent, heartbreak, grief, annoyance.

“Valkyrie…” Karin called.

“Child.” She sighed heavily at the way she was addressed. “You’ve come seeking answers have you?”

“I dunno.” Karin shrugged. “I guess. I was just..I was training with Kagura and Tayuya in the woods and I got lost. Took a break in some snow and a woman attacked me. She claims I killed her son.” She explained. She waited and she waited, entirely impatiently for Valkyrie to tell her that it wasn’t true, that that isn’t what happened, but she just sat there, staring at Karin with those dead eyes.

“Sit down.” She ordered. “I suppose I should've known this would happen.”

“What?” Karin asked as she sat down in front of the captive spirit. “What would happen.”

“Your memory. The chaining therapy that you’ve been undergoing with Kato. I’ve been exploring his magic. The intent is to seal away your bad memories, make them harder to affect you, let you sleep easier at night. Instead, I have been manipulating the chains with my own magic, using them to simply seal away majority of your thoughts and memories.”

“E-Excuse me?” Karin gasped. She hadn’t the slightest idea that Valkyrie could manipulate Kato’s magic, she didn’t even realize that Valkyrie could still use magic. She wondered silently if the others knew the woman was still able to do that.

“They are not.” Valkyrie answered. “I can read your thoughts, don’t forget that. To answer all your questions, I did it because I didn’t want you remembering the carnage. You and I don’t need to be best friends, but you need to be at peace with me living within you. If you resent me for what happened, it would be inevitable that you attempt to cast me out and I haven’t the slightest clue where I would end up or what would happen to my spirit.

Think of it as me trying to protect you despite the obvious selfish intent. In regards to the others, some of them are clueless, but there are the few who are not as naive and stupid as they sometimes act. There is doubt within them that the magic gathered by the Phoenix is completely in your control. They’d rather pretend that you can master it instead.”

“Wait, Stop.” Karin exclaimed throwing her hands up. “You..you can’t just manipulate me to protect your own ass! I have been getting eggs thrown at me in the streets because I’m walking around unapologetically clueless and you’re just chilling in my head and going with it. What the fuck!?”

“Well…” Valkyrie started, “you could at least act a little more sorry.”

“I can’t remember the last time I was genuinely sorry for anything in my life. I’ve forgotten how to fake it. And how do you still hold all this magic? Hanna dispelled it or whatever.”

“Hanna dispelled the evil that had contaminated my spirit. I’m a pure entity now, but I still have my magic.”

“Our magic.” Karin hissed. Valkyrie raised a blonde eyebrow to the red headed woman. “This is my body, my soul, you’re just a tenant. If you wanna live here, you gotta pay up! I want complete access!”

“Why should I do that? You’ve proven once that you can’t handle it.”

“I wasn’t given a chance. And considering that I survived, I think I did fairly well. Valkyrie, you’ve been living in my head for months now. You know everything about me. My childhood, my adolescence, my young adulthood so far. You can’t look me in my face and tell me that maybe I don’t deserve this because I do.” The woman stared blankly at her. Karin was right, Valkyrie knew her inside and out whether she liked it or not.

Orphaned at a young age, a victim to an ignorant and neglectful society, a guinea pig in a world she was far too young to understand and a pawn in everyone else’s game. Walked on and kicked around for years and the only thing saving her was turning herself into an unforgiving, cold-hearted bitch. Someone like Karin probably would love to be able to control what happened to her. But still, Valkyrie knew all too well what greed would do to a person. Her own graveyard greed for revenge drug her through Hell and back several times.

“You have to earn it. You have to work hard in your training. Day in and day out. You have to bleed, sweat, and cry the desire to be better. If I just hand you the magic all at once it will swallow you whole again and next time, it will kill you. Can you do that? Can you prove to me that you’re truly worthy and not just a vessel for me to lounge in?” Karin nodded with a stern look on her face. “I can’t grant you this gift without you knowing the severity of it. The damage that can and has been done. You have to look into our actions and swallow them down. Live with them. Remember them. Can you do that?”

Karin froze for a moment. She’d taken many lives before and never thought twice about it. It was her job, it was her way of life, the way she protected herself and showed others that she wasn’t to be trifled with. But she had never had to make a point by killing a child. She didn’t know the exact number, but in shinobi she was directly responsible for less than 100 deaths, and within a matter of seconds she could be responsible for thousands. Could she live the rest of her existence knowing that? What would she do? How would she make amends for that? Could she even make amends for that?

“Second guessing yourself already?” Valkyrie said, smirking for the first time. It was that smirk that lit a fire under Karin’s butt.

“No.” She growled. “I can do it. I’m tired of being the one that stands in the background and watches. I’m going to be better than that. I can do this.” Valkyrie’s smirk turned into a soft smile and she stood, towering above Karin’s seated figure.

“Very well then.” She whispered, raising her hands from her sides. As she raised her hands the darkness faded and it was suddenly very bright in Karin’s mind. There was these three dimensional boxes floating in the air around them with thick, heavy looking chains on them. A burst of reddish orange energy flowed from Valkyrie’s palms and spread to the chains and they dissipated in front of her eyes. They were memories. Memories from just over 2 years ago. She looked different, grotesque and bloody. Disfigured in some and she couldn’t believe that it was her. She didn’t know whether she had to touch the memories or what because it was still silent and they weren’t moving and then all at once, the screaming began.

o.O.o

When Kagura and Tayuya finally found Karin she was unconscious in the snow, right outside the border of Lycia. There was a woman with her, standing there over her motionless body. She introduced herself as Schaeunna Nez, a Lycan just looking for justice. She insisted that she didn’t hurt Karin, just made her took a long look at herself. Tayuya didn’t know what that meant, but Kagura decided that it wasn’t worth fighting Schaeunna over considering she hadn’t actually done anything wrong except maybe cross the border but who really cared about that?

So, Kagura scooped the redhead up on her feather and the three of them rode off together to Kagura’s house where she tucked Karin into a guest room and they waited. It took three days for Karin to reawaken and when she did she was a sweaty, tearful mess. She kept babbling on and on about how sorry she was and how she didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Neither Kagura or Tayuya were the comforting types so they awkwardly rubbed her back and offered her some food and drinks to help calm her down. After hours of relentless sobbing she ran out of tears to cry and settled on a hot bath and a sandwich.

To say Tayuya was curious was an understatement. She was practically jumping off the walls with angst. She wanted to know what the hell had just happened and what Karin was so sorry about. Her first thought was that Kagura would never tell her because of her loyalty to Karin, but she was proven wrong when Kagura offered up the information she was dying to know without even being asked.

“She’s being really hard on herself.” She had said. “She was possessed and she was forced to do a lot of things that she didn’t realize she was doing. I guess she got her memory back, pretty dark shit ya know?”

“Possessed huh?”

“Mhm. That’s why you guys here. I mean, for years we’ve always kind of worried that our forces weren’t big enough to protect all of Saigon, especially since it’s such an ever growing country. When Karin attacked, we were cut down really hard. The military here is amazing but there’s a reason why we’re employed in the line of work that we are. They just aren’t equipped to handle that kind of threat. And, well, after doing some research on Karin and finding out about the shinobi world, Saigen came up with the brilliant idea to draft a bunch of fallen shinobi into our ranks.”

“He pulled some pretty big names.” Tayuya grumbled.

“Yeah, he was extremely impressed with the Uchiha clan as a whole, although I personally think he brought Madara and Hashirama specifically so he could have some friends more...his age….sort of.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it. I guess that makes sense. Why me though? I didn’t do anything impressive.”

“He saw potential in you obviously. I see potential too. Tayuya, you’re an excellent shinobi.”

“You realize I died right? Couldn’t have been that great.”

“Yeah and? I died once too. But I’m back and I dare the bastard that took me out last time to do it again. This is a world of second chances, stop thinking about the past. That isn’t your life anymore.”

Kagura said it so easily. ‘Stop thinking about the past. That isn’t your life anymore.’ How could it not be her life when she hardly felt right in this life? Technically, Kagura and Karin were the only friends she had here. She was the only person from the Sound Four who had been revived and she was only on good terms with them because she worked with them so often. She couldn’t just put herself out there and find a million and one people to hang out with and fill the empty void that she was feeling within her.

Saigen had suggested she see a therapist, but Tayuya felt like he suggested that to everyone. Still she went and she met the person who would now be telling her how she could live in this world and be peaceful about it. His name was Colby and Tayuya felt like maybe he had faked his license to practice. He wasn’t gentle and he didn’t sugarcoat or say prescription nice things to her to make her feel better. He was brutally honest in his responses and questions to her and at first it had proved to be quite annoying and frustrating, but after a few months she started to appreciate his asshole methods. He was real with her and it was for her benefit. How was she supposed to help herself find her way here if he just constantly lied and told her the stupid shit she wanted to hear?

At Colby’s suggestion to get off her ass and stop being a stubborn girl who refused to accept the fact that maybe everyone in the world wasn’t out to get her, she went out and got a job. She was being paid a nice sum from just being on the Royal Militia roster despite the fact that she hadn’t done any missions yet so she didn’t need anything too serious. She accepted a job at an animal shelter. She fed the dogs and cats, bathed bunnies, and secretly cuddled the surprisingly cute fat rats.

In another effort to adjust, she looked for more people to bond with. Her first thought was that it would be easiest to bond with Karin considering they were practically the same person. Both orphans, both worked under Orochimaru, both were redheads and they both had shitty attitudes, but that didn’t work. Instead she soon found herself spending time with Kaori Miashi. Kaori was a complex person with her own mental drama to work through, but it was that specific drama that she was using to adjust.

She had joined the Akatsuki as a teenager alongside Itachi and stayed in the shadows with Tobi for her entire stint, running quiet missions with him or Pein and Konan. The missions that she ran had left her hands stained in blood and frequent nightmares. She believed that she has also been shunned from the afterlife with her family after accidentally ending her younger sister's life and therefore she was determined to use this second chance to change her direction and correct her sins. She wanted to fight on the right side of the battle this time and she wouldn’t let anyone stop her. Tayuya slowly began to idolize her. She went to her for tips at life, she went to her to vent, and she went to her for fun.

Kaori Miashi had become Tayuya’s person and Hidan also pushed his way into her life. He claimed he was a bonus to spending time with the small blonde woman. Kaori claimed he was a mere side effect and that she’d known him so long now that she couldn’t get rid of him because it would ‘fuck with her flow’ and she couldn’t have that. Tayuya didn’t care all that much because she found Hidan entertaining to argue with. The one thing Tayuya struggled with in regards to Kaori was her friendship with Konan which initiated a friendship between her and Kagura and subsequently Karin. She didn’t want to start feeling like an outsider in her own little bubble.

“Don’t be crazy Tayu,” Kaori had scoffed to her one night, “I can be friends with Kagura and Karin and still wanna be your friend too.”

“Someone’s territorial.” Hidan had muttered from behind his prayer book. It wasn’t a real book, just something he’d wrote down, pieced together and reread every night.

“I’m not territorial! I just..I don’t know how to get along with those two. They’re so fucking close and I can’t relate which is weird because I thought I could but I can’t and it just annoys me that you were able to do that so easily.”

“So stop trying to force yourself to relate. Just let it happen naturally. The first time I met Karin, I didn’t like her. She was loud and she was bossy and she was rolling with the kid who my best friend just gave his life for.” Kaori said as she polished her blade. “But ya know, past doesn’t matter, so we have a clean slate. Now we’re cool.” Once again, Kaori was right. Tayuya had been so busy trying to build a relationship with Karin based off of what they shared in the past and she couldn’t do that. She had to drop their past and just start anew. Start anew, start anew, start a-fucking-new.

So one day after work she dropped by Karin’s apartment. Her roommate, Roegan answered the door, or more like she opened the door quickly and let Tayuya in as she rushed out of it to get to work and the two redheads wound up sitting down together over tea. It was nice.

o.O.o

Training was an interesting thing. Karin often times thought that Saigen would always be leading their group training, but that wasn’t so. Most times he did lead, but sometimes he allowed an ‘Elder Shinobi Council Member’ or ‘ESCM’ to lead some of their sessions. Chakra control was led by Madara Uchiha and Kaori Miashi got to teach them about the different chakra natures and discover what chakra type they all had by default and what they could cook up on their own.

Kaori came from a village that believed you didn’t have to be restricted to a certain chakra type. If you trained hard enough and wanted it enough, you could open more spiritual doors and gain access to chakra reserves that are usually left untapped. Kaori herself was a master of all five chakra natures which is why she was also chosen to teach them all how to access their untapped skills and hone their gifts.

“Chakra is a combination of physical, spiritual, and natural energy.” Madara had explained.

“It’s different for everyone. Just because you have access to chakra doesn’t mean that you can perform jutsus.” Kaori added. “Those of you who...originate from Saigon, probably won’t be able to perform actual jutsu. Instead what you’ll be doing is learning how to reshape your natural abilities.”

Kaori had used Kagura’s gift of wind control to explain herself. Kagura could already turn her wind into tornadoes, she could use to raise the dead, and she could obviously blow things away. However, to do this, Kagura had to use her fan. Kaori taught her how to change this. She taught her to pull the wind into the palm of her hand and use it at will, without any external devices.

Karin discovered that she had more than one chakra nature. Earth and water were hers by default, but of course, now that she was running on the wings of the Phoenix, fire was a given for her now too. Although, she still had yet to prove herself worthy enough to Valkyrie before the woman would even let her conjure a tiny fireball in her hand.

Since Tayuya had already refined her spiritual chakra skills, Madara had tasked her with working more on her physical skill set. So during their team training sessions the three of them spent their time at the watering hole that Kagura had claimed as their spot and they worked tirelessly at honing their gifts. Karin used the water to her advantage and worked first on being able to manipulate the water. Her chakra precision and control worked favorably for her and she picked up on it easily enough. She also had to credit her sheer determination.

Tayuya worked on her physical skill set by fighting off a bunch of training dummies until her legs gave out and Kagura focused on taming her wind. She started small, little cylindrical balls of air in her hand then larger balls. She flattered them into what she at first called ‘wind discs’ but then switched to ‘wind plates.’ She was back and forth on the name. Kagura’s final form for her wind was in the shape of a scythe. She easily named it the ‘Wind Scythe.’ She adored that thing and often times used it as a scare tactic when Karin and Tayuya got into petty arguments.

Kagura wasn’t the only one enjoying her new talents. Kanna was learning a new trait of her own. She had formed some odd friendship with one of the Akatsuki. Sasori was his name and Kanna had taken quite the interest in his puppets. Sasori in return was interested in how Kanna’s mirror demon worked. She controlled its actions herself and so he considered it a puppet.

He had begun teaching Kanna how to make her own puppets and since she couldn’t thread chakra, she added her own special means of control to each puppet she created. Kagura liked to believe that Kanna was happy and having fun with her new activity so she supported her fully.

When Karin wasn’t doing any of her required training she was studying at the academy. Her classes had only recently started and she was determined to ace them. Troen was also taking a few academy classes, to use up some of his free time and so naturally, he became her partner in Witchcraft Studies. He helped her learn simple things like levitation and scrying. The younger male was also a skilled spellcaster and he had agreed to teach Karin to craft her own spells.

She did these things on repeat so that she didn’t forget them. She levitated all around her apartment, above her bed, sometimes at work if she zoned out, and during her downtime with training. She would sometimes task Roegan with running off somewhere far out of the city and she would use a borrowed scrying crystal and something she’d taken from Roegan’s room to find her.

As far as her spells went, she had seen better days. Troen made it look easy, mutter incantations and conjuring up whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. She didn’t want to say she envied him because that would be stupid. He had owned these abilities for over a decade now. These abilities were who he was. So no, she wasn’t envious per say, but she did wish she could pick it all up a little faster.

o.O.o

“Do you remember when we first met?” A voice whispered. Karin was in bed, laying on her side in the dark. It was so quiet in the apartment that you could hear a pin drop. The only sound was the occasional whispers from Valkyrie. While Karin was glad the woman seemed to be connecting with her more, she just wished she could do it at a more timely hour.

“No. I don’t. Should I?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if it didn’t matter.” She replied matter of factly. Karin huffed and rolled her eyes. “It was shortly after your mother died. The first time those people used you. You had just stumbled back into your cabin. Riddled with teeth marks and saliva, tears staining your face.”

“I wanted my mama.” Karin whispered.

“You got me instead. I watched you cry, all alone and it was then that I knew there was a possibility that you would be the next vessel. A small pool of hatred began to bubble in your chest for humanity. Do you remember, months after the chunin exams had ended. Those people attacked your village.” Karin remembered that indeed. It was a day full of confusion and mixed emotions for her.

“I tried to tell them.” She whispered to the empty room. “I tried to tell them that I felt something bad. Nobody would listen to me. They thought...they thought...that I was just being dramatic, seeking attention.”

“So what did you do?”

“I ran. I ran and I hid and I watched the smoke rise from afar as my village burned.” She confirmed.

“And the man that survived…”

“That man.” Karin remembered him as well. He had been laying under the debris of his ruined home, severely injured and burned. He was dying right in front of Karin’s eyes. He had extended a crisp hand to her, reaching for her leg and he intended to bite her. It was her job to let him and had this been a few days ago, she would have. But then she remembered how they treated her. She tried so hard to gain their approval, please these people and they continuously took and took and took from her and never once attempted to make her feel welcome. Like she belonged. They kept her on the outskirts of the village. The adults sneered at her and talked down on her. The children weren’t allowed to play with her because she was an outsider, she was dangerous. They slapped a headband on her and shipped her out to the exams to be fed on with not a clue how to defend herself from other enemy Shinobi. She yanked her leg out of his reach and crouched down in front of him. They would use her no more.

“I watched that man die.”

“The minute he breathed his last breath..you were marked.”

o.O.o  
Kato Igarashi had walked the earth for centuries. He had been to every country and continent that there was to visit. He had lived in mansions and forests and walked alongside all types of peoples. During his years of existing he had had plenty of time to realize that humans were his biggest threat and they hated things that they didn’t understand. They were manipulative, they were judgemental and like the world, they were cruel. This was not to say that magical beings were much better, but they didn’t hunt you down and kill you based off of whatever fake perceptions they had of you.

At the age of 2, his father was beheaded by a partner of his who sought to steal Saigen’s throne in the kingdom of Scotland and also to steal a load of ancient riches that the fairy people had acquired through their ancestors over centuries on top of centuries. Shortly after his father was beheaded his mother took an iron arrow through the heart and smiled her last smile at him before sending him through the looking tree to live with who she believed to be a very mature and adult nymph.

As it turned out, his new caretaker, Merona Deville was not a mature or adult nymph. She was merely 12 years of age and was the last remaining nymph of her kind. Her mother had died before Kato’s birth unbeknownst to his mother and in Merona’s desire to no longer be lonely she pretended to be her mother to keep in contact with Lady Brynn and when Brynn pushed her son through to the other side, Merona was excited to finally have a new friend.

He was not allowed to leave the land of Ellay for the next 16 years of his life. The only thing that resided in that land was a large castle and an equally large lake surrounded by a big forest that went absolutely nowhere. When his 16th year was up and he had finally reached the age of 18 he had developed a serious problem with being confined to one place for a while. He fled Ellay as soon as possible to finally feel the fulfilling sense of freedom and also to take vengeance on his parents killer.

The people in the kingdom were happy to be rid of their latest tyrant and they celebrated for weeks. Kato stuck around, he watched contentedly from the shadows with the smallest of smiles on his face. His father would have been proud to see his kingdom happy and thriving again, right? The bliss was short lived. He made the mistake of removing the hood of his cloak one day and at the first sight of his face, his ears, they made an immediate decision to reject him. He was edged out of the society and referred to as a monster. It was an unsettling feeling, wanting to be somewhere so badly and not being wanted there. Still, he chose to compromise. He stayed away during the day, hiding out in the tops of trees and then at night when the streets were less full he would walk them.

After two months of vacationing in the real world he had a fated meet with Lucifer. It was his first time encountering a vampire and because he was completely clueless about the other species he received a venomous bite to his throat and barely escaped death. He spent the next two days in searing agony thinking that maybe he hadn’t escaped death at all before he started to notice the changes. His skin, pale as it already was, was paler. His heart was not beating as hard as it had been before. Breathing was no longer a necessity and the only thing he craved more than anything in the world now..was blood.

He tracked down Lucifer and received answers from the tall, dark haired man. Lucifer described him as a vampire and he informed him that he would now survive off of a thirst for blood. He was now immortal and even less of a human than he already was. He didn’t know how to cope with this new change. The things it made him do, they scared him. The only people he ever wanted to hurt were dead and now he was just piling up casualties. He tried to make his nightly feedings as justified as possible by preying on thieves and men who tried to take advantage of innocent women at night. Still, he was worried about the person he was becoming so he made the decision not to return to his home in Ellay as he had planned.

Merona who had become worried that something had happened to her precious boy Kato, took to the streets of Scotland for the second time in her life, the first being to secure a baby to continue her lineage, to bring him home. Merona hadn’t a penny to her name that she could use in this world being that everything she ever needed she forged from her home in Ellay and without money she wasn’t able to get a room at an Inn to shelter her from the cold night winds. She slept on the streets and grew ill in her search for her friend and the humans didn’t take too kindly to a woodland monster being on their streets. They believed she would eat them and they decided she had to be driven out.

It was a cold snowy night when Merona was attacked by two men on the street who kicked rocks at her and tried to drag her out of the street while she loudly declared that she wasn’t leaving without Kato. Kato, having decided that he would return to this town heard the commotion and in a fit of rage, swooped in to protect his caretaker; and Merona witnessed the blood being drained from one of her attackers body as Kato easily snapped the neck of the other after he tried to run. A small trickle of blood flowed down his chin and he kept his distance from Merona, staring at her with slant red eyes. Part of him feared that he would hurt her and another part of him feared that she would be afraid of him and run.

Merona didn’t run however. She gave him one look over and ran to embrace him not caring about what she had just seen. It was something that could be discussed later, she was just relieved to know that he was not harmed.

Over the years, Kato acquired many new obstacles in his life, he loved and he lost repeatedly and he adopted more tasks than he originally wanted, but the one thing that remained consistent in his life was Merona. So once he had established his kingdom, he named a beloved city after his beloved friend. The Royal Castle was placed at the heart of this city and it was in this castle that he eventually met the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with. Sariah and Kato’s relationship was frowned upon by her family. He wasn’t of Egyptian descent and her mother and he were not friends whatsoever. They were allies more or less, she worked for him and she had grown to believe him a heartless and cold bastard who would get her daughter killed. After many arguments and several threats, Sariah decided that she couldn’t abandon the family that raised her and she wed to a man that made her mother happy.

Kato was completely calm about the ordeal. He had long since learned how to get rid of his emotions. He remained a part of Sariah’s life as a friend and even treated her husband and her subsequent daughter with the respect they deserved. After her husband fell ill and passed away, Sariah made a second decision, to be with Kato once again. Her daughter Akasha showed no resentment towards the idea as the man had already been apart of her life practically since birth and he was fairly nice to her. Fatema disowned Sariah as a result and that was the end of that family alliance.

Sariah and Akasha were around when Hanna met her untimely demise due to being overtaken by the Phoenix. Akasha was much younger and was just beginning to come into her powers. One night, while Kato and Sariah slept peacefully, Akasha woke up screaming. She detailed a nightmare she had for them. She was alone, in the dark. It was cold and wet and she could hear faint weeping and something that sounded like chains rattling. Her legs moved on their own towards the noise and she came face to face with a bloody woman in chains screaming ‘help me!’ The woman’s features, red eyes and red hair were carved into Akasha’s mind.

Kato made the decision that he couldn’t let the Phoenix come back, his people couldn’t continue to suffer under her thumb. So, he obtained a witch's help and was granted a spell to help him find the next vessel. Once he found her he resolved that he would kill her and that would be that. The spell took him to another world, to what he referred to as Old Japan. He wore a dark cloak and stuck to the outskirts of the village as he searched for his target. Occasionally he would use his fairy magic on some of the villagers to obtain information about a redheaded woman and he was led to a tiny shack just outside the village.

He stood on the inside of this shack, staring at a tiny lump on the floor that was barely moving. The top of her red hair poking out from her blanket and every so often he would see her shiver and she would whimper before catching herself. He surmised that she was trying to play dead, but unfortunately for her he could hear her breathing. He urged her to get up, informing her that he knew she wasn’t dead. She was a tiny human girl, shoulder length red hair, half dead red eyes and thin even for her age. By the looks of her home, her family was poor. Very poor. Also by the looks of her home it appeared that she was the only inhabitant. He inquired about her father and mother, an elder sister if she had one.

She was alone. Her parents were long dead and she had no siblings. That’s when it occurred to him that he was already staring at the next vessel and he absolutely couldn’t kill her. She was a mere child and despite what people perceived of him, Kato wasn’t a monster. He hated killing back then and he still hated it now. No matter how many times he had slung his blade, no matter how many times he’d sank his teeth or used his light whip, he had never actually enjoyed the practice.

Before long, Kato had made the decision to leave. He erased her memory of seeing him and the only possible reminder she would have was a small magical garden that grew vegetables for her to eat. Upon returning to Saigon, he reasoned that maybe she would die on her own before she got the opportunity to be possessed. It’s not like any of the adults in the village were actually taking care of her anyways. Still, the thought kept him up at night and he made a promise to himself that in a few years, before she turned 20 he would return. He would watch her for a few days, evaluate, and if she was alive and still suffering then he would go back to his original plan of eliminating her. It could’ve worked, it almost worked, but unfortunately, his biggest guilt was only 19 when she came hurling down to punish him for not saving her sooner.

o.O.o

Team Kisame, Itachi, and Dannie, or Kitadan, as they referred to themselves, advanced quite speedily. Kisame and Itachi already complimented each other as a team due to their previous alliance and Dannie was quite easy to work with on the field. They didn’t have to worry much about her being injured considering she was immortal in more ways than one and she was skilled enough to hold her own in battle. It was no shock to them that they began running missions before most of the others.

Itachi and Kisame were intrigued. Their new world was a powerhouse in this universe and they protected many smaller worlds from bigger bullying worlds. They helped to build civilizations and they worked to bring peace to other warring nations. Because of this, not all of their missions required fights. It was a change but it was a welcome change in Itachi’s mind considering he never had too much of a passion for warfare anyways. It was always just something he did because he had to.

During one particular mission in Feudal Japan, they were merely going to assist with the rebuilding of a village that had been burned down after a drought started a fire. They had managed to do their part and were on their way back to the bone-eaters well to return home when a small herd of demons soared above them. Within this herd of demons that they fought, they encountered a demon princess by the name of Akumu. She claimed to be what nightmares were made of.

Though Kisame wasn’t with them, Dannie and Itachi sprung quickly into action and like always, they worked together almost as if they didn’t have realistic issues with each other outside of the Feudal Era. Dannie willfully took an arrow that she didn’t have time to dodge and neither of them gave it a second thought. She took damage quite well after all; but this time, she fainted.

“Your friend should have moved.” Akumu had cackled from her safe distance above. “When one takes a hit from my poisonous arrows, they are rendered comatose and forced to confront their darkest secrets, the nightmares that keep them awake at night! The horror of it all will kill them.”

Akumu called off her army of demons and retreated to whatever hell she came from and Itachi scooped up an unconscious Dannie and raced back to the well. The well took them to the lower level of the syndicate and he hastily climbed the steps to the upper level to meet with whoever was available to help Dannie. Unfortunately for him, it was Troen. He didn’t know much about the younger male. He was Prince of Saigon, he worked at a bank and a restaurant, and though he gave the appearance of someone about 17-18 years old, he was actually only 14 biologically and only 3 given the fact that his birthday fell on a leap year.

“Is there anyone else around?” Itachi asked.

“Uh, no it’s just me here. What happened to Dannie?” He asked with raised brows and pursed lips.

“We have a new adversary in Feudal. A princess named Akumu, she claims to be the maker of nightmares. She shot a poisonous arrow at Dannie.” Itachi explained as he laid the woman down on the meeting table for Troen to examine her. “She obviously didn’t avoid it because she figured it would be pointless, but the arrow itself isn’t what hurts you. The poison knocks you unconscious and it’s your nightmares that kill you.”

“Hmm,” Troen hummed, “Dannie can’t die so she should’ve been up by now. I think she’s probably trapped in her nightmares. Paralyzed by fear if you will. If she doesn’t snap out of it on her own though, she’ll just stay comatose forever.”

“What do we do?” Itachi asked. Troen didn’t answer him immediately. Instead he paced around Dannie curiously, cocking his head to the sides in wonder. He gently lifted her eyelids to check for pupil dilation, Itachi assumed, but it was just the whites of her eyes that were visible.

“We have to get ahold of her. To do that, we have to get in her head. The only people I know of who can do that would be...you, Madara, Shisui, and Kato. Unfortunately for the three of you, her eyes are in the back of her head so you can’t look at her. And Kato…he left like two days ago and won’t be back until next week.”

“How does Kato do it? Is it a spell that someone can replicate?”

“Well...it’s not a spell.” He sighed. “It’s a power. He uses it on Karin all the time, he calls it ‘chaining.’ He emits a bit of energy through his claws into her temples and the physical contact along with the magical energy allows him to delve into her mind and mute her memories. To be completely honest, Kato has been teaching me the trick but I haven’t perfected it and I don’t know what’ll happen if I mess up.”

“You’ll have to do it. If we can’t get in touch with Kato then you’re the last option.” Troen mulled over this. When Kato first presented the idea of learning the chaining ability to him, he was thrilled about it. The first time he dove into Kato’s mind for practice however, he’d regretted his earlier decision. The last thing he wanted to do now was dive into Dannie’s mind. He remembered when she was first brought here, the look in her eyes when the first made eye contact. It scared him and he never wanted to know what she had endured while being held prisoner. He supposed that none of that mattered anymore though, she was in trouble and he couldn’t just not save her because of his own hang ups.

“We’ll have to move her. There’s too much going on in this room with all the monitors and whatnot. I need total silence.” Itachi nodded and the two of them left the meeting room with Dannie and moved to a smaller, quieter operation room. Dannie was placed on one of the tables and Troen sat in a chair at the head of the table. He gently brushed her hair back and took a deep breath in.

“Wait,” Itachi said before Troen had a chance to begin. “I don’t want to make this more difficult for you, but am I able to look into her mind as well? With this trick of yours.”

“Like, can I chain the both of you? At the same time?” Itachi nodded. “I don’t know. I guess….if I used a cloning spell and maybe you put your head right next to Dannie’s. I don’t know if that’ll help but whatever seems beneficial right?”

“You’re the witch, not me.” Itachi shrugged. Troen nodded silently as Itachi pushed another table next to the one Dannie was on and laid down. Performing the cloning spell was easy, just a simple ‘duplicare’ and there were two of them in the room. He decided to only insert one claw into each of their temples and he figured he would hold his own hand to connect the four of them. He popped into Dannie’s mind first but after a few seconds, Itachi materialized next to him.

“This is it.” He told Itachi.

“It’s quiet in here.” Itachi realized aloud.

“No,” Troen said shaking his head, “you can’t hear them..but I can.” Luckily for the two of them, seeing in the dark was never a problem and with Troen leading the way, they journeyed together through Dannie’s erie mind. A ways ahead of them Itachi saw a dim light and a small figure. It was Dannie they discovered as they neared the light. They were in the center of her core memory and all of her worst ones were circling her. Surrounding her was a small group of shadowy demons that were whispering into her ears reminding Dannie of her childhood, of her ruined family bond and her miserably failing relationship.

Upon noticing the intrusion the shadow demons turned their attention of Itachi and Troen and hissed violently at them. Itachi and Troen waited to see if the demons would attack but they didn’t move. They kept their place next to Dannie and glared fiercely at them before turning their attention back to Dannie.

“I don’t think they can hurt us.” Troen acknowledged. “I mean…they’re shadows. Looks like all they can do is glare and whisper.”

“Right, let’s get to Dannie then.” Itachi said. Their theory about the shadows being unable to attack was proven correct when they entered the circle of memories unharmed. Itachi looked around him, at the visions slowly circling their eyesight. He had his own ulterior motives for wanting to join Troen on this trip, and it was for this particular purpose. He wanted to learn all the secrets that she so desperately clung to.

He read them with his sharingan. Committing them to his own memory just in case. The more they stared at them, the louder they became. The memories and the shadow demons. Reminding her that everything was her fault. Troen stepped up to the first memory block and placed his palms flush against it. A series of chains began surrounding one memory after another, silencing them and pushing them back to the recesses of her mind. The more of them that disappeared, the quieter the shadow demons got and slowly, one by one, they began to dissipate themselves. Soon enough it was just the three of them in there and Troen said the only thing left to do was leave and see if it had worked.

Outside of Dannie’s mind it took all of four hours for her to finally come to, but she comatose state seemed much more peaceful after the chaining therapy. If she was aware of the two of them roaming around in her mind she didn’t show it. She informed them that the last thing she remembered was being shot with an arrow, passing out and not being able to wake up for awhile. Itachi and Troen silently agreed not to tell her about the memories then. They did however have to report it to Saigen.

“You say you encountered a strange demoness in the Feudal era?” The man had asked. Itachi nodded his head once.

“That is correct. Her name is Akumu, she claims to control nightmares. She came with an army of smaller, less powerful demons. They protected her to the fullest even though she stayed out of reach. She floats on a dark cloud.” Itachi said.

“What did she look like? I’ll have to confer with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. See if they’ve crossed paths with her before.”

“Fair skin, long straight dark brown hair that’s parted in the middle. Her eyes are purple and she has a singular black dot in the middle of her forehead.”

“Interesting.”

“She’s able to materialize the bow and arrows whenever she needs to use them and after they’ve struck you, they disappear leaving behind a dangerous poison. Daniela was struck, we had to resort to using Kato’s method of chaining therapy on her to free her from Akumu’s hold.”

“Well as long as she’s alright now.” Saigen nodded. “Since we’re talking about Dannie now, how are things going? I see she’s taken quite well to Kisame, but how is adapting to you and vise versa?”

“In all honesty?” In all honesty, up until about five and a half hours ago, Itachi couldn’t have cared less about the small woman as anything other than a comrade. And even that was a small center of care. He didn’t really know anything about her and she appeared stubborn, tactless, and childish in his opinion. And not to mention he hated being her babysitter. “I haven’t been very fair to Daniela. But after spending some time inside her head, I think maybe I should make a few adjustments in our relationship. Starting with just calling her Dannie.”

“Mm. I see.” The large, silver haired man seemed pleased by Itachi’s sudden decision and in another sense he also seemed to bear a remorseful look in his eyes. “I’m sorry that you were tasked with this duty. While I do cherish Dannie like a family member of my own, I understand quite well that she has her own way of living her life and it may contradict very deeply with yours. But I also understand that she’s simply this way because she’s never been in control of her own life until she arrived here. She’s still trying to figure out who she is as a person and how to interact with particular people. Do you still wish you’d been laid back to rest?”

Well that was the question of the year. Itachi has started off finding this second, or third, chance at life absolutely meaningless. He didn’t care for the lavish luxuries that many of the others were partaking in. He wasn’t interested in reuniting with his Akatsuki brethren and he didn’t feel right living alongside the parents he’d killed. Shisui was in therapy by Saigen’s suggestion and he was always sharing the things his therapist told him with Itachi. He endured it and he entertained it but it didn’t change how empty he still felt.

“I don’t want to seem ungrateful. It hasn’t even been a year yet, maybe...in due time.” He decided.

“Of course. I wish you the best then.” Saigen smiled. “Well, if you’ve told me everything then I think we can consider this debriefing over.”

o.O.o

When Kato returned home he discovered that one red headed Karin Uzumaki had been camping outside his door awaiting his return. He assumed, from the way she looked at him that she wasn’t pleased. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to anyone whatsoever whine to him about something, but like always he relented to her because of all the internal guilt he felt. He unlocked the door and allowed her inside, fixed her a cup of cocoa and the two of them sat at the island in his kitchen. She held onto the mug tightly for an eternity. Not looking at him but looking into the chocolate liquid in her cup.

“I figured you would’ve had plenty of time to piece together your thoughts by now Karin. I’ve been gone for a week.”

“Yeah.” She grunted. “I thought that..I knew what I wanted to say to you. I just, I don’t know.”

“What is this about?” He asked hoping to get straight to the point of her current agitation.

“I remembered.” She whispered. “I met a woman today. She was angry with me. She made me remember.”

Kato blinked at her idly. Would he have to perform a chaining session right now? Is that why she was here?

“I was in the woods. I was with my team and we were coming back from visiting Sasuke’s friend and his old village. I’d been having serious panic attacks for days. I kept telling them that I could see her. I could see a woman in black and she wanted me. They thought I was crazy. Sasuke decided we would leave. We would go back to Sound and on the way we were attacked. It was her, I knew it. I was hiding in the trees and a black smog started to devour them, suffocate them. I felt something rip me up into the air and my back broke, I was sure I was dead. But then I woke up who knows how long later and I wasn’t me. I was so cold that it burned and all I could see was red.

I remembered fighting two people to get something. It was on some island. I don’t know where but I stole a sword. A double sided naginata. Then next thing I knew I was barreling down in a ball of flames to Saigon and when I crash landed the earth shattered beneath me and the ground caught fire. People started screaming and running and I cut them down with that blade.” Karin inhaled deeply in the middle of her story. It still seemed like such a bad dream but she knew it was real. It was entirely real.

“What did you do after you left Lycia?” He asked her from across the table. She sipped on her cocoa and licked at her lips.

“Um, I guess the commotion didn’t go unnoticed. A loud alarm went off everywhere. It was deafening, made my ears bleed. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop, it’s like I was on a mission. I headed out to the city. Causing chaos and wreaking havoc with every step and then..I met Kagura. I think she was actually trying to get out of my warpath when we met each other but she stayed and she fought me anyways. She didn’t win but she didn’t lose either. I saw the color of her eyes and I gained just enough control over my body to reveal the color of my own eyes.

I don’t know why, it just seemed like the easiest way to tell her that I wasn’t myself. Pull some sympathy out of her. Get some help, ya know?”

“Did it work for you then?”

“No. Maybe a little. She faltered in her fight, I lost control again and then I cut her arm, but then Sesshomaru and his blade got in the way. It almost destroyed me. I had to get out of there and away from him so I vanished. When I came back, I went to the southern region where the defense levels were lowest. I started there and worked my way over to the East. I think at this point, the mission was just to destroy everything. I’m glad I went East though. That’s where Heartsville is. Where all the humans who wished to live alongside you all reside. The defense was heaviest there and I couldn’t get out of the various battles I’d gotten myself in. Reinforcements were called in from the military and then you and the militia stated to arrive.

That’s when I snapped because I couldn’t find my footing in the fight. My rage turned into a fire and I watched people, cars, homes start to disintegrate before me. The fires were spreading and they were so hot. My skin was boiling and blistering and I wanted nothing more in that moment than death. When I saw that woman in the hood come with that ice cold staff, I thought maybe she would kill me. But instead she freed me and the fires ceased. I passed out woke up in solitary to that man trying to strangle me.”

“You played dead and he thought he’d won...and then you met me.” Kato said.

“Yeah...again. I didn’t understand you then and I was so delirious and stressed that I stopped thinking about it for the longest, but you said something. You said that...I’d gotten better at it. At playing dead. That woke up another memory that had long since been dead within me. I remember hearing someone walk into my home when I was a little girl. I was terrified. I thought it was the villagers coming to take me to the main village with them. Make me heal another hundred soldiers. But it wasn’t. It was you. You were there with me. Why?”

He hadn’t banked on all these memories dredging up that one other memory. But they had and now he supposed it was time to face the music. Maybe it would feel good to finally tell her of his past mistakes. Get it off of his chest. One less guilt to carry.

“I was there to kill you. My step-daughter, she had a premonition. She saw your invasion and I went there to prevent it.” He admitted.

“Why didn’t you? All of this could have been avoided? I could have spared this world a lot of pain.”

“You’re right. And I suppose, I could have spared you more pain. But I couldn’t do it. I’d killed many people in my life, but never a child. I thought of taking you with me, but I could hardly take care of myself and my other charges. I didn’t want to run the risk of ruining your life any further. It was thoughtless and selfish.”

Karin gasped a little. He thought of taking her with him. Back to Saigon, but he willfully chose not to? It was almost like a slap in the face. He could have saved her from years of abuse, experimentation, heartbreak and he chose not to because of his own fears. It made sense to her now. Why he always so lenient with her in prison. Why he tolerated her and didn’t treat her the same as the other inmates. He was trying to clear his guilty conscience. It angered her. He didn’t get to do that. He didn’t get to make a decision like that for her and then try to nice guy his way out of the consequences. The mug in her grip shattered and the cocoa inside spilled all over the table. She looked down at the incident and noticed the tiny shards of glass stuck in her palms. Kato went to get a rag to clean it and Karin started digging the shards out.

She had a mouthful that she wanted to say to him. She wanted to punch him in his handsome face and rip his gorgeous hair out of his scalp. She wanted him to beg for her forgiveness and rue the day he decided to be selfish. But the more glass shards she dug out, the more she began realizing that she had to let that life go. It was holding on so tightly to such angry feelings that led to her possession in the first place. She started to put herself in his shoes. Try to rationalize and think of things his way. Look at it positively. What if he did bring her to Saigon as a kid? Just because he brought her there, didn’t mean he had to keep her himself. He could have sent her to an orphanage. And what if no one wanted a weird red headed, red eyed Japanese girl? She would’ve aged out and gone to live at the Haven. If the Haven was even invented at the time, and if it wasn’t, what would she have done then?

Maybe she would have never met his father and she wouldn’t have ever had a chance encounter with Kagura and became her best friend. She would’ve never been able to have such an opportunity like the one she has now. Honing an impressive power and becoming her own savior. And most importantly, she wouldn’t have met Sasuke if she had come here. And who’s to say that bringing her here would have even done any good? Her mother had been killed and teeth marks had already embedded themselves into her skin so the damage was already done.

By the end of the night, Karin left Kato’s house on the same terms as she had arrived on. He of course would never be her best friend and that was to be expected but she didn’t hate him and he had given her his apology. It was the least he could do and she accepted that. This is what growing up felt like. She had always been more mature than most people she encountered because of the life she’d led, but her maturity didn’t do much for her temper. Always quick to anger and quick to react when she was upset by something. This is what it felt like to not have to hit someone every time she felt offended or wrong or cheated or just plain pissed. It felt good.

o.O.o

When Naruto got home late that night, Sasuke was sitting on his couch reading aloud the flyer that he’d sent around to the other villages. He initially knew it was only a matter of time before the raven caught wind of it and came to confront him, but after a few months had passed he had thought that maybe Sasuke didn’t actually care as much as he thought. Clearly, he was wrong. He set the flyer aside and stared at Naruto with vacant eyes. The blonde didn’t know whether he should brace himself for either a verbal or a physical attack but whichever it was he guessed he was prepared. He didn’t want to argue, not after the long day he’d had, but he was prepared to.

“If you have something to say Sasuke then just say it.” He said putting on the best stern front he could muster. Sasuke scratched absentmindedly at his chin.

“I’m just confused.” He admitted. “I thought you wanted me to handle this?”

“I did, and then you said Orochimaru was innocent.”

“I said he was innocent and that I was still looking into it. I don’t see how that prompted you to jump to such..drastic conclusions.” Sasuke’s tone was calm. He hadn’t raised his voice once, he hadn’t glared at Naruto or insulted his decisions. He sounded earnest in his confusion. It was unsettling.

“I didn’t think of it on my own, I’ll admit that, but Sasuke, it made a lot of sense at the time.” Naruto said as he crossed the room to sit next to his friend.

“At the time. What about now? It’s been 2 ½ years Naruto. None of those bodies have popped back up and the Shinobi world is still relatively peaceful. What are your thoughts now?” He asked him. Naruto didn’t know what his thoughts were now. Sasuke was right, everyone was still fairly peaceful with each other. The commotion about the missing Akatsuki bodies had died down gradually since no one had attacked and none of them could be found anywhere.

The gossip about Karin being the possible ringleader had also subsided and people had come to accept the fact that she was dead just as previously speculated and again, her memory was lost upon people. They had reached dead ends all around and Naruto was at a loss for what to do.

“I feel stupid Sasuke. Honestly. This Hokage thing? It isn’t as easy as I had hoped. And I mean, I knew it would be somewhat difficult because I’m leading an entire village but with everything so quiet lately I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about things like this so soon.”

“Yeah well, you were never were one to think things through.”

“Guess so.” The blonde male sighed. “I’m sorry ya know. About the flyers. I’m sorry we didn’t find her and I’m also sorry we gave up.”

“You’ve already apologized for that Naruto. There’s no need to do it again.” Sasuke said. Naruto glanced at him from the side of his eye. He sighed dramatically and crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess, I’m sorry about taking my frustrations out on you. You have a job to do and I’m not making it all that easy for you.”

“Yeah well! It’s totally fine, I mean, I expect it ya know? You’ve always been a bastard!” Naruto laughed.

“Yeah, I know. Look, I’ll keep my promise to you. If I see or hear anything, you’ll be the first to know, but let’s just say your theory is right. If Karin is alive, if she lied, betrayed me, then she’s mine. Got it?” Naruto nodded his head quickly and Sasuke grunted next to him. The raven spent the next few days there and Naruto was happy about that since seeing Sasuke on a regular basis wasn’t a normal thing anymore, but he was grateful for the time he did get. When it came time for Sasuke to leave again he tried to be very understanding and not whine and complain like he usually would but he couldn’t hold back the sad look in his eyes. At least things between them seemed to be getting better.

o.O.o

After Dannie’s incident, she noticed that things around her were starting to change. Itachi was starting to change. He was putting forth an effort to call her Dannie instead of Daniela. He lightly encouraged her to tell him one of her wild mission stories and he even once ordered her an extra large pizza and didn’t hassle her for a single slice. Something was off and she wanted answers. Maybe if he had always been like this it would be fine, but because he was usually a quiet, old fashioned, very vanilla type person it was weird and made her uncomfortable. So, one night when she had inquired about staying with them at the manor, she waited until Kisame slept and crept into Itachi’s room to interrogate him.

She was convinced that maybe when she fainted he was possessed by a nicer much more bearable Itachi and if she had to beat the truth out of this imposter than so be it. Even though they didn’t get along that well, he was still her teammate and if there was a chance he was in trouble, she would help him. The fake Itachi was not entertained by her antics and declared valiantly that he was who he said he was. Obviously it was she who had gone crazy.

“If you’re the real Itachi,” she signed, “why are you being so nice?”

“Are you implying that I’m not a nice person? Because I disagree.”

“I’m saying that you are treating me differently. Why?” Itachi was posed with a decision to make. Did he lie to her and tell he’d simply had a change of heart or did he tell her the truth and tell her that he knew all about the man Dominic that raised her.

“Do you remember fainting?” He asked deciding to go with the truth. He didn’t want to risk her trying to choke him out in his sleep again. She nodded at him. “When you fainted. You couldn’t wake up because there were these..nightmare demons infesting your mind. You were paralyzed by the other fear of reliving your hell on Earth.”

“Oh...okay? Sounds interesting. What does that have to do with you being nice to me? I’m awake now.” She asked confused.

“Because. In order to free you, we had to delve into your mind and come face to face with these memories as well. We sealed them away.”

“You...were in…my mind?” Her hands moved much slower as she was processing this new information she was given.

“Indeed. Troen and I. We haven’t told anyone about the man named Dominic.” Dannie listened to his confession and it was starting to make sense to her. He was being nice because he pitied her. Dominic was the leader of the group of warlocks who’d murdered her family and kidnapped her as a child. They’d extracted her warlock magic and thought her dead, but in the dark of night she’d reawaken due to the resurgence gift inside her and since they couldn’t just let her do, Dominic had decided they she would stay there and she would be his daughter.

It was strange at first, because she remembered her real father but slowly her memories of her family started to go away and all she had left was Dominic. He was a violent man, terribly easy to anger and almost everything she did angered him. He refused to call her Dannie because that was a boys name. He made her grow her hair long and wear pink dresses with flats and bows in her hair to help her remember that she was a little girl. She knew what she was, she had just always preferred shorts and pants. He hated how much Dannie talked when she was younger because she could go for hours with her made up stories. One day her talking had distracted him too much and he’d wound up locking her in a dark room with the rottweilers for hours before he remembered she was in there. She went in screaming and crying and begging to be let out because she was scared of the large dogs but she came out traumatized and mute.

Dominic had a younger brother. Ryan. Ryan felt like Dannie was a burden, a freeloader. She had to work to stay there so she started doing chores around the house. At first they wanted her to cook for them, but she was bad at it and burned too many dishes. For every dish she burned, Ryan would hold her hand down to the hot stove plate and call it a lesson. Eventually, Dominic decided to have her do easier chores. Cleaning the house, sweeping, a little dusting. She preferred those much more. As the years went on, she began to warm up to Dominic as he became nicer to her. He helped her learn sign language and he defended her against Ryan and the other lackies. She still did her chores around the house, but she felt less like a prisoner. By the time she was 16, she had basically accepted him as a father.

When Dannie was 18, Dominic suddenly fell ill and his life force began to fade. She was never allowed around him unsupervised and even then she had to keep her distance. These were Ryan’s orders, and she and Dominic both knew that he was doing this to ensure that Dannie couldn’t heal him. The last thing Dominic said to her before he finally died was that he was sorry for everything he had done to her. He regretted stealing her childhood with her family from her but he didn’t regret raising her because he was certain she would become something great one day. He told her that even in death he had found a way to protect her should she ever need it and when times got rough she was to go to the shed outside. He said these things in sign language so Ryan couldn’t understand and he graced her with a beautiful gold necklace and then he died.

Almost immediately after, Dannie was put back to work under Ryan’s cruel thumb. She was forced to partake in basement rituals that oftentimes left innocent people dead and she was never allowed to revive them. The few luxuries she’d had from Dominic were stripped from her. Her room was now empty and cold. She didn’t get the pretty dresses anymore, just old raggedy ones that had holes. One night, when Ryan was drunk he caught her trying to leave the house and she spent the next week alone in a dark room with little food and water. Afterwards she was given a second punishment to become an eternal slave to their pack of collector warlocks. A vampire was brought in from the outside and Dannie found herself waking up days later with a thirst for blood. After years of abuse from Ryan the day finally arose for Dannie to make an escape. Her initial thought was to just take off out the door and keep going, but she remembered Dominic’s words and ran to the shed instead. She’d never been there before but she could tell that this is where they held all their trophies. It was like everything in the room was calling out to her.

There were weapons in cases, locks of hair in frames, pieces of uniforms. One man’s head was perfectly displayed on a podium in the room and she was drawn to it. Maybe because it still looked eerily fresh despite the fact that it could’ve been down there for years and it was a detached head. The long silver hair growing from it looked as silky and lively as ever. She heard the gang of collectors coming to the shed to recapture her and picked up the head from its place holding it up in front of her. That’s when she felt a tingly sensation in her palms and a flurry of pink shrouded the head and flashes before her eyes across everything in the room. Then the head opened its eyes and smirked at her.

Touching the head had set off a chain reaction and soon the land was swarming with undead beings who were attacking the clan of collectors in revenge. Dannie who was terrified took cover in a closet before she was found and finally freed by her brother and Hanna. And then her life here began.

She had never told anyone about Dominic or Ryan, but she still wore that necklace to this very day.

“I don’t need or want your sympathy, Itachi.” She sighed hastily.

“It’s not sympathy.” He replied. “It’s me realizing that there’s always a reason for the way that people are. You have various reasons for the reasons you do the things you do and the least I could do is respect them. I won’t treat you any differently other than that.” He sounded sincere to her, but she didn’t know how she felt about it. She had held her secrets close for years and to have them acknowledged by someone she’d practically just met. It was unnerving and strange, but he was trying.

“Promise me that you won’t tell anyone.” She pleaded.

“Of course. It’s not my secret to tell. But, I would like you to promise me something in return.”

“You? What do you want?” She asked.

“I want you to let me help you. Learn to speak again, that is. I understand that you like your signing, but it’s not something you’ve chosen for yourself. It was always just a way to protect yourself from being punished. No one’s gonna punish you now.” This was a lot to think about. She was positive she couldn’t just open her mouth and words would come out, but she had always heard that over time and with treatment, if she worked at it, it would be possible. And Itachi was clearly willing to help. It had been so long since she’d heard her own voice and she was certain it sounded much different than it had when she was younger. Maybe this would be fun. Maybe it was time for her to move on completely.

o.O.o

Gabe knew that eventually Karin would come back. She had a lot of work that she wanted done and she didn’t seem like the type of person to jump from artist to artist and mix and match work. So when she finally did walk through the door to the shop again, he was very pleased. She was alone this time when she approached him at the counter. She looked a little different though. She’d chopped her beautiful red hair off and now it just brushed her shoulders. It was fitting on her and he liked it but he also couldn’t wait for it to grow back.

“What’s with the cut?” He asked her.

“Eh, it grows way too fast now. I cut it off and Kanna told me I could give it to people who didn’t have hair. So I did that.” She shrugged. “Let’s just get to the important matters at hand, shall we?”

“I mean I guess so. What are you here for?” He asked casually leaning down on the glass countertop. The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled through clenched teeth.

“I want this really cool tattoo that I thought of, but I’m counting on you to professional and not make me regret this.”

“I’m only offended but go ahead.” He decided.

“Okay apparently you can get tattoos under your boobs. I like that idea and I have great boobs so I was thinking why not ya know? I want it to be centered around this really cool gift that I have. To spare you the details of all that, I want an eye to be the center of it. But a unique eye. Black sclera, a moon for the eyeball, a few small stars in the background to represent the twinkle. I’m sure you’ll figure it out when you draw it. I want there to be a pair of hands surrounding the eye, kind of framing it and then I would like a pair of wings spreading out under each breast. Does that make sense?”

“Well I don’t know the details behind it so no, but I can draw it for you if that’s what you’re asking.” He confirmed with a slow drag of his hand through his hair.

“Well thank you kindly, smartass.” Karin mocked.

“Of course. And just so you know, we don’t have a transfer mat for the torso like we do for the arms.”

“That’s fine. I can handle it.”

“Good to know.” It didn’t take Gabe long to draw up her idea and he had essentially captured it perfectly. It looked much better on paper than it did in her head and she considered herself satisfied. He escorted her back to the room and closed the door.

“Alright, to make sure that this stays ‘professional’ as you mentioned, after you take your top and your bra off, I’m gonna put some gauze and tape over your nipples.” Karin nodded to him and while he prepared her covers, she bared her top and used her hands to cover her nipples for the time being. Her toothy scars did in fact cover most of her torso as well, including some parts of her breast, but he didn’t mention them to her. Obviously she wasn’t comfortable with them. Karin laid down on the table while Gabe carefully applied the transfer paper to her skin and after an approving nod, the machine roared to life and the needle met her skin.

It was fine. It was less irritating with just the one needle as opposed to the hundreds of smaller needles that had done her sleeve.

“You were happy to see me. When I walked through the door.” Karin said pointedly.

“Hm, well, it was a nice surprise.” He replied to her. “You took your sweet time coming back.”

“Pfft, well excuse me for having a life. I’ve become a very busy person as of late.”

“Are you too busy to hang out with me someday.”

“Like...a date?” She asked.

“If that’s what you’d prefer to call it.” He wipes at the fresh ink on her skin with a paper towel and then went back to his work.

“I don’t know. I don’t know you like that.” She huffed.

“Isn’t that why people hang out in the first place? To get to know each other?” He said with a small smirk.

“We can get to know each other right here.” She countered.

“Then tell me about yourself. I know you’re not from here, but where’d you grow up? What was your childhood like?” He asked her.

“Wow, you’re not gonna ask me about my favorite color? Or my favorite food first?”

“I would,” he said, “but I don’t care much for small talk and I get the feeling that you don’t actually give a damn to tell me any of that.”

“I guess you’re right.” Karin agreed. “Well...I was born in the Shinobi World in a very small village. I don’t remember it, but we didn’t stay there long. My mother and I were always on the move ya know? I never knew what we were running from but we were always running. So, my childhood was tiring. And lonely. I didn’t have any friends. My school was shit. It wasn’t a good time to be honest.”

“No siblings? Cousins?” He asked her next.

“No siblings. I have a cousin though. We don’t know each other that well. He’s...strange. Very nice and friendly. Great guy really, but he’s more of a friend to Sa-“ Karin paused in the midst of her speech. She hadn’t spoken much of Sasuke since that night with Kagura and that was months ago. She tried to stay as far away from that topic as possible. It was just easier that way. “Someone else.” She finished. “I don’t want to talk about my life anymore. What’s up with your childhood?”

“Ehh, it was just my brother and I. It was a fairly decent childhood, nice schools, friends. My father died when I was younger. He left almost everything to me and a little bit to my brother. My mother lost her everloving mind. She just kind of detached, mainly from me. She coveted my younger brother like he was her only child.”

“That must’ve pissed you off.” The redhead said.

“It’s...annoying, but I deal with it. She doesn’t speak to me much anymore but I still keep up with them. My grandparents are still heavily involved in my life.”

“Why didn’t he leave her anything?” Karin asked.

“She’s not a saint. Affairs, overspending, unreliability, alcoholism. You name it, she probably did it. My younger brother was biologically some other man’s kid so he loved him but to an extent I suppose.”

“I see. Explains the resentment.”

“Yeah. What do you do? You grew up in the Shinobi world probably training to be some incredible ninja and well, we don’t have ninjas here. How are you surviving?” He asked her.

“I make coffee for people and sometimes I sell them snacks.” She told them with a slight roll of her eyes. “It’s definitely been an adjustment but I was never an ‘incredible ninja’ so ya know, there’s that.”

“Did you die?” He asked her then.

“What?”

“In battle. Did you ever die in battle?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“Did you ever kill anyone?” He asked next.

“A few people.” She answered.

“Alright then, I guess that makes you an incredible ninja in my book.” He told her. Karin smirked to herself. If only he knew.

“You don’t even know which side I was on. I could’ve been killing the good people.” She muttered.

“You still made your objective. The life of a ninja is to kill or be killed? Complete a mission? Reach an objective? You did all that. You’re great. Congratulations. If you read too much into it it’s gonna get really complicated and nobody likes complicated.”

Karin was finished a few hours later and her reddened skin was covered with nice new ink. It looked beautiful and just like with her sleeve, it managed to help cover the teeth marks just a little more. She was well satisfied with Gabe and she even decided that maybe, possibly, she would hang out with him. It wasn’t immediate, she liked to tease the idea of a date and then keep him on the hook. Eventually though she did agree to hang out with him. It was at the encouragement of Kanna and Kagura that she ultimately made this decision. They kept insisting that life was too long for her to be lonely through all of it.

When he asked if she had a location preference she jokingly suggested a science museum. So, Gabe took her to a modern day science exhibit where she got to learn about the advanced technology and theories of human and meta human evolution. It was fascinating and it felt sensational to be involved in the world of science again. Since coming to Saigon, she hadn’t been able to practice her art so she was grateful for the experience. Science wasn’t Gabe’s thing and though he understood it, he didn’t gush over findings like she did.

She should’ve known that the thing he was most passionate about was art. They spent their next outing together in an art museum where he cools gushed about the portraits and murals that lined the walls from famous artists all around the globe. Abstract art was his favorite. He liked picking out pieces of an image inside the chaos on the canvas. It all just looked like chaos to Karin but she wouldn’t ruin his fun. Outside of tattooing, Gabe liked to draw portraits. He mainly drew things he saw and remembered throughout the day that deeply interested him and sometimes, if he saw someone that was particularly fascinating to his eye, he would draw a sketch of them. He had a small sketch of Karin that she’d found tucked away in his book. It was wonderful, practically like she was jumping off the page. She wondered if she really looked like that. Like she did in the picture. She would never say she was ugly but she wouldn’t claim to be the greatest looking woman in the word either. But on this paper, in that sketchbook, her image was so raw and so beautiful that she admired herself.

Their third night together was spent on the rooftop of the Haven with a few beers and some chips. The winter was over and the Spring was rolling in slowly. She was closer to Gabe now, much closer and she considered him a close and personal friend. She was comfortable around him and he’d managed to gain her trust. He was one of the most honest and non judgmental people she’d met in a while -outside of the militia- and he always seemed to prefer to put her happiness first. He did little things for her every so often just so she would smile. He listened to her and made her feel important. If it was 3 in the morning and she’d been out partying with Kagura and Kanna and decided she was hungry, he was always easy to reach and never complained about going to get her food despite how exhausted he was. He was always exhausted though.

She’d learned that vampires did need to sleep. Not as much as humans or other mythical creatures, but eventually they had to shut their eyes and turn their brains off for a few hours. Gabe had insomnia. Insomnia in vampires was an awful hand to be dealt. Their brains were always moving at such quick paces and they were always so alert that the longer they stayed up, the more restless they became. The more restless they became the likelier they were to act out and hurt someone or something. Sometimes he would spend the night with her and Karin would attempt to lull him to sleep with stories or maybe a song that her mother would sing to her as a child. It didn’t always work, but sometimes his pretty blue eyes would shut and he would lay there next to her so peacefully.

The first time he kissed her, it was soft and gentle. Like he was savoring every part of her mouth. It was just as amazing as he was. After 5 months Karin realized that maybe she was falling for him. Definitely not falling in love, but her attraction to him was becoming more than surface level. She’d never had a real boyfriend before, but Gabe set the standard. Still, deep down inside, despite the happiness she felt when she was with him, she felt sadness lingering around as well. He cared for her so deeply, so quickly, so selfishly and in the back of her mind, Sasuke was always there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, by the end of this chapter Karin will have been missing for 2 years and 11 months exactly. We’re rounding on 3 years!


	10. The Merger Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters feel so much shorter when I’m writing them. There’s been a whole year timeskip at the beginning of this chapter because things need to start happening.

Chapter T.e.n: The Merger Part 1

A lot had happened to Sasuke over the past year. Taka had inadvertently taken on a new member. A woman named Asako; a fair skinned, short woman with long dark black hair and soft pink eyes.She was serving as their new medic nin. They had picked her up four months ago after she was almost killed by a group of bandit ninjas. Asako was alright, not too annoying, not too pushy. She didn’t appear to have any feelings towards Sasuke so she wasn’t trying to force any romantic emotions on him.

Despite how much Suigetsu tried to bother and poke fun at her, Asako never showed an interest in arguing with him. Jugo was polite, but otherwise didn’t seem to mind her too much. When they first picked up Asako, they stuck to traveling around for a small bit, but eventually, and much to Naruto’s pleading, Sasuke decided that he and Taka would settle down in Konoha. He’d spent years roaming around the countryside and he figured maybe he could finally just give in to Naruto’s wishes and come back.

Their first month back in Konoha was rough. Nobody really minded Asako of course because they didn’t know her and she had nothing to do with any of Sasuke or Taka’s past crimes. The others however, they very quickly learned what they already knew; people were unforgiving. Sasuke knew to expect this, but it still annoyed him how big of assholes these people could be. His friends had selflessly gone into battle and risked their lives for this village. They were outsiders however so that didn’t matter.

Once they got back into Konoha, Sasuke and his team began rebuilding one of the many old Uchiha homes for them to live in. Naruto made quite a few appearances to express his happiness and lend a hand in the repairs; and once the repairs were finished he made more appearances just so he could be in Sasuke’s presence. It was nice having Naruto around so much. They didn’t have to send letters back and forth and he didn’t have to sneak in and out of his house. If he wanted Naruto in the middle of the night, now all he had to do was roll over and kiss his neck, maybe press his groin against his butt. It was easier, it was so much easier.

Sakura appeared every so often and it was always awkward between the three of them. She knew about Sasuke and Naruto. At least it felt like she knew. The way she stared at them, envious and sad. Naruto tried like always to keep the peace between the three of them. Including Sakura in some of their hangouts. Sometimes he magically had something to do and would leave the two of them alone with hopes that maybe they’d turn into best friends in the short amount of time. It never happened. Most times they sat silently until Sasuke decided he was ready to leave and once Sakura tried asking him why he never contacted her. He had simply responded that he didn’t feel it necessary to speak to her and that was the end of that. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her since.

After months of living there and establishing a sense of (false) trust with the village, Taka was cleared to go on missions. They were small at first, D rank missions to close by villages. Usually just delivering messages to other village heads. Luckily for his sake Naruto didn’t subject them to chasing down anymore cats like the old days. Gradually their missions gained importance and soon enough, 8 months later, Sasuke found himself trekking through the forest with Asako in tow. They were going to deliver a very important scroll to Gaara in the Sand. Naruto had been advised not to give this mission to Sasuke, but Naruto felt Sasuke would be best.

Sasuke was known as a wanderer in their world now with no real allegiance to any village. As far they knew, he was just visiting an old friend and he had nothing on him worth taking. Aside from his eyes but that was a given that he was prepared to handle anyways.

Meeting with Gaara went as well as planned. He hadn’t spoken to Gaara in a while but he considered the man a worthy acquaintance. He was important to Naruto and that was good enough for him. There was one point in his life that he thought maybe Gaara had romantic feelings for Naruto and he didn’t know how he felt about that, but he realized that wasn’t so. He was quietly attached to a village girl and they seemed happy from the way the man talked.

Asako and Sasuke stayed in the Sand village that night and the next morning they were off again, heading back to Konoha. They had only made it a small ways before a storm approached, thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. It wasn’t safe to continue traveling in those conditions so they stopped off in a small village that Sasuke had only encountered once before. Back when he going stark raving mad over Karin’s disappearance. Luckily this wasn’t one of the villages he’d ruthlessly ran through and interrogated. This village was hardly capable of keeping their crops up there was no way they could have been responsible for a whole attack and kidnapping. He had merely asked them if they’d seen her and that was all.

They remembered Sasuke and maybe it was the pity they felt for him that they allowed him and Asako to stay in a small hut while the storm passed. Either way he was grateful.

“How long do you think the storm will last Sasuke?” Asako had asked him as she stared out the small window.

“Don’t know.” He muttered. It had been going on for hours and it sounded pretty constant. “We may be here all night.”

“Figures. Maybe we should have taken Gaara up on his offer to stay another night.”

“We’ll be fine Asako. Just...go to sleep. I’m sure it’ll be clear by tomorrow and we’ll go home.” Asako stared out the window for only a few more minutes before she got bored and figured sleep would probably be better. Shortly after Asako fell asleep, Sasuke did too.

In the middle of the night the two of them were jolted out of their sleep by a loud pounding on the door. At first Sasuke thought maybe it was the wind blowing the door open and slamming it back shut. Then it came again and Sasuke realized it was a person knocking. There was no light coming through the window so it wasn’t someone bringing food or messages. He groaned inwardly at the next harsh knock and rolled off his mat to go answer the door.

It was a young boy. Probably 9 or 10, with a shaved head and small brown eyes. Sasuke was confused. He figured the boy had to of been lost. He didn’t look wet so he hadn’t been out in the storm earlier.

“Can I help you?” Sasuke asked. “I haven’t got any food for you.” He added, just to be clear.

“No no,” the boy said shaking his head, “I’m not here for food.”

“Are you lost? Are you looking for your parents?” Asako asked from behind Sasuke.

“No ma’am. I was wondering actually...are you...you came to my village a few years ago..right? You were looking for your friend.” He said quietly. Sasuke stared at the small boy. It was strange. Why was he showing up here in the middle of the night, after a terrible storm, and asking about Karin?

He crouched down in front of the kid and nodded slowly. “Yes. What’s your name?” He asked him.

“Kishō.” He answered.

“Why don’t you come inside Kishō? It’s cold outside, we can talk in here.” Kishō shuffled inside and sat down next to Asako who patted the spot next to her.

“Kishō, you came here for a reason yes? What did you want to tell me?” Sasuke asked once he settled back down in front of the two of them.

“Well, I don’t want you to be upset with me. I was scared when you first arrived, but, I saw your friend. The woman with the red hair.”

Asako looked towards Sasuke. He seemed frozen in his spot on the floor. His face bore a look of something close to panic and desperation. She didn’t know about much about the woman, Karin, their late teammate. Jugo and Suigetsu only talked about her when Sasuke wasn’t around and even then it was very little said. From what she had gathered, the girl was dead. Or at least she was supposed to be.

“Karin.” Sasuke breathed. “You saw her.” Kishō nodded.

“It was shortly before you arrived. I wasn’t supposed to see her. I was playing in the woods. My mother told me not to, but I did anyways. There was a well in the woods. I had never seen it before. It came out of nowhere. There was something coming out of the well. It was….black. I hid behind the bushes and I saw her. The black thing...it was dragging her into the well.”

Sasuke inhaled deeply. The black thing, was that what assaulted them? Knocked them unconscious. She’d cried for days about a dark figure watching her. “Was she...when you saw her...was she alive?” Kishō dropped eye contact with him immediately. His action was like a siren to Sasuke’s ears.

“She...her eyes were open, but she wasn’t moving. She didn’t blink. It was like she was looking at me, but she couldn’t say anything.”

“Why?” Sasuke hissed. “Why are you telling me this now? What does it even matter now?!”

“Sasuke…” Asako said, “he’s a child. Please don’t yell at him.”

“I’m sorry mister. I thought you would want to know. The well, it disappeared after it took her, but every year, it comes back! I go there and I look inside. I thought she would crawl out and that’s why it comes back, but she never does. When I saw you earlier today, I waited for the storm to pass and for my mama to sleep and then I went to the woods. The well is here. You have to see it.”

And yet again, Sasuke found himself baffled by this kid. Bomb after bomb and there was no stopping him. Kishō hopped up from his spot on the floor and went towards the door. He stopped only long enough to wave the two adults along before darting out the door.

“Sas-

“I’m following him.” Sasuke decided, standing up. “You don’t have to come, this has nothing to do with you, but I’m going.” Asako watched as he left threw the door into the darkness. She wished the other two were here, maybe they could stop him. Or maybe they’d be just as eager to follow. Regardless of what she thought, she quickly chased after them as well. What if it was a trick and he needed her help? Not much she could do, but it was better to try than do nothing right?

The moonlight was barely keeping their path lit and if it weren’t for his sharingan, Sasuke probably would’ve lost Kishō in the winding trees. His conscience was yelling at him to stop, to turn back. It didn’t make sense. Why now? Almost four years had gone by and he was finally at peace with it. Now, this kid comes out of the blue and has all the answers? It was a dangerous stretch but he was compelled to take it.

Kishō ducked through some bushes up ahead and disappeared. Sasuke and Asako ducked through after him and came out the other side. The moonlight was brightest here. Shining right over a very old looking well that was covered with moss and vines.

“This is it.” Kishō said. “I swear.” He added while Sasuke slowly approached the well.

“Right. And she just...she went in here?”

“There was a light when she fell in. A bright light. It was very quick.” Kishō said.

“Sasuke, this is crazy. Please just, stop for a minute and realize how crazy this all sounds. A..a well? A well took your friend?”

“Not a well Asako. A dark figure. He said a dark figure did it. The well was just...the escape route.”

“And that doesn’t sound crazy to you either?”

“It does Asako. It is crazy and four years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. But four years ago, Karin was still here. You weren’t there that day...you didn’t feel that force on the back of your neck, slamming you into trees and suffocating you.” Sasuke gripped the edge of the well tightly and grit his teeth. “You didn’t hear her scream. I went everywhere. I asked everyone I could. She fell off the face of the fucking earth and it was crazy. If I have to follow an equally crazy lead from a child to find her then I guess that’s just what I have to do.”

“It’s getting late.” Kishō said suddenly. “My mama is gonna wake up soon. I have to go home.”

“Take him home Asako.”

“Are you gonna be here when I get back?” She asked him.

“I don’t know. Hopefully not.” Asako quietly sighed with a roll of her eyes. She turned to Kishō and gently draped her arm over his small shoulders.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I’m not lying.” He told her on their way back to his home.

“Hmph. I don’t know Kishō. I don’t think you’re a bad kid, I just...I don’t understand any of this. I wanna believe you because it’s just too crazy of a theory to make up, but it’s just _too_ crazy.”

“I guess. You’ll just have to see it for yourself.”

“Yeah…I guess.” Once Asako got Kishō safely back to the village she left his side and hurried back to Sasuke and the well. She was torn a little. Part of her wanted something to have happened, wanted him to have disappeared through the well because maybe it would mean there was hope, but another part of her wanted him to still be there for the sake of her own sanity.

So when she returned, she was only mildly saddened to still him there. Still stroking the well with his one arm like it was a pet. Whispering to it softly. She’d never seen someone obsess over something so quickly.

“Kishō is safe at home.” She called out to him. “What do you want to do about the well?”

He didn’t hear her. He was too busy staring down at the black abyss inside the well. He wondered how deep it was. How did it work? Could he use a jutsu to activate it. Did this well go beyond the power of jutsu? What if he did get it to work and he pulled Karin out? What would happen then?

“We’re going in.” He told her. Sasuke’s hoisted himself on the edge of the well, straddling the stone.

“Of course we are.” She muttered. Sasuke made a sign for a multi shadow clone jutsu. A jutsu that she’d never seen him use until now. She guessed it was to help them reach the bottom. She was right. It was strange, climbing down a rope of Sasuke’s. And it felt never ending. Every time she thought they were getting closer to the ground, she would kick her feet and feel nothing but air. It was starting to make her paranoid. What if one of the Sasuke’s let go of another Sasuke and they slipped and fell and died from the long drop. It was too late to climb back up and she was certain Sasuke wasn’t going to go through all that trouble.

“This is taking forever!” She exclaimed.

“Mm. It is. Maybe...we should just let go.”

“What sense does that make?”

“Well we’d get there faster.” He grunted. He looked down at Asako who was clearly nervous. She was always nervous about taking risks though. “I’m gonna let go. We’ll be fine. Just...don’t let go of me.” Her arms circled his waist tighter. He mentally counted to three and then released the shadow clones. Asako shrieked as they started free falling. The fall didn’t stop, it just kept going until a bright light, the same light that Kishō had advised them about, engulfed them. The free fall became faster and the scenery around them was nauseating. Their ears rang and though Asako tried, she was pulled away from Sasuke and left to free fall on her own.

Sasuke and Asako were spat out of the well onto the ground then and they laid there, unmoving while they tried to catch their breath. Sasuke opened his eyes first. The light was bright and the sun was out. How long had they been gone? He tried to move but his body felt like jelly. His muscles were tingling painfully and his head pounded.

“Asako,” He grunted, “are you okay?” He couldn’t see her from where he was laying, but she had to be close by.

“Sasuke.” She coughed. “What happened?”

“Can you move?” He asked her.

“No.” Neither of them could move. Their bodies were so exhausted. So they lay there. Sasuke counted the seconds in his head. They laid there for five minutes before he was able to raise himself to his knees and really look around. This forest was different. The trees were much larger, the grass was brighter, greener. The ground was dry and heated. Like summer ground instead of grass that had just been beat with rain. Asako sat up and began stretching her limbs while Sasuke got to his feet. The air here was so fresh that it burned his nostrils.

“Where are we?” Asako asked standing up.

“I don’t know.” He answered. The well was behind them, he peered over the ledge. The bottom was very clear and it was like a normal well now. “Let’s look around.”

“Look around? I feel like I’m gonna pass out any minute now.”

“Well we have to keep moving, so let’s go.”

They started off together deeper into the forest, or maybe out of the forest, they weren’t sure. The surroundings were beautiful in Asako’s opinion. Pretty blue rivers, butterflies all around, wildflowers sprouting on almost every corner.

“I’ve never seen flowers so pretty.” She muttered.

“Forget about the flowers. There’s smoke up ahead. Someone’s starting a fire.” Sasuke told her. Asako half expected him to break out into a sprint towards the smoke, but he didn’t. Probably because he couldn’t. His walking speed did increase however. The closer they got to the billowing smoke the more they were able to see. It was coming from within a village. A large village at that. It was strange as there shouldn’t have been any other villages around Kisho’s but here it was. Out of nowhere, just like him.

Outside of the village wall, there was a guard station. Two women sat inside the station reading a book of some type. Sasuke figured if they wanted to get in there they’d have to go through them. They would just have to do it. Maybe Karin had come and settled here after her attack.

He and Asako tried to look as non-threatening as possible as they approached the station. The women who became increasingly aware of their presence closed their books and narrowed their eyes to them.

“Who do we have here?” One of them asked when they reached the stopping point.

“Do you have your ID cards?” The other woman asked. Sasuke and Asako looked at each other and raised an eyebrow.

“No. We don’t have ID cards. We’re..just wondering if you can answer a question for us.”

“I guess we can do that. What is it?”

“My friend and I, we’re looking for a woman. She may have passed through here a few years ago, I’m hoping she’s still here. She..has long red hair, red eyes, her name is Karin Uzumaki.”

The two women looked at Sasuke, stared him down, and then looked towards each other. Their voices dropped to a whisper but Asako heard them mumble something along the lines of ‘red devil’ and it didn’t sit right with her.

“We know her.” The woman said. “I’ll take you into the reservation.”

“Is she here?” Asako asked from behind Sasuke. The woman merely smiled at her, almost too sweetly. Sasuke and Asako followed her into the village. People were lining the streets, having small conversations. Standing outside of small markets or seated outside of tea shops. Sasuke and Asako caught their attention, Sasuke figures it must have been their clothing. These people were dressed vastly different. Maybe it was their physical appearance too. Asako and Sasuke were both fair skinned with black hair while all these people were brown skinned with brown hair, maybe a blonde or two but brunettes for the most part.

“So...Karin...does she live here?” Sasuke asked. Asako could tell by his walk and his talk that his alarm signals were on and he was prepared for the worst.

“No actually, she doesn’t live here but she’s visited before. Made quite the lasting impression on us.”

“I see. She has that effect on people.” Sasuke nodded.

“What about you? How do you know her? Are you..”

“Friends. We’re close friends. She left a few years ago and I’ve been searching for her ever since.”

“Interesting. My name is Nanisa by the way.”

“Nanisa. I’m Sasuke Uchiha, this is my teammate, Asako.” Nanisa continued leading them deeper into the heart of the village. Less and less people became visible. It got eerily quiet.

“‘Scuse me, miss Nanisa, where are we going again? I don’t see Karin anywhere.” Asako said becoming wary.

Nanisa stopped ahead of them and laughed. “Ah shit man, I haven’t been completely honest with you guys.” She turned to face them. “Your friend, she don’t come here much. She’s uh...banned from these lands.”

“Excuse me?” Sasuke questioned.

“Yeah. We call her the Red Devil here. Awful little bitch, she is. So awful in fact that we have a legal order against her. If she were to step foot on Lycia property….we kill her.”

Sasuke’s eyes immediately narrowed into harsh slits. Asako’s breath hitched in her throat and she took a hesitant step backwards. She knew something was wrong.

“Why?” She asked. “Why did you bring us here?”

“I figured, why not ya know? It’s only a once in a lifetime chance that the opportunity arises to hurt her the same way she hurt us. You came all the way here from fuck knows where, obviously you both really care about her. I can only imagine how sad she’ll be after I eat you.”

“...eat...us?” The little dark haired woman before them gave a wicked grin before throwing her head back and howling loudly to the sky. Her physical appearance began to change before their eyes. She went from being a small human to a monstrous sized wolf. A vicious snarl, harsh yellow eyes and deadly looking teeth. Sasuke, thinking quickly activated his mangekyo sharingan.

He had no idea what Nanisa was talking about. He knew Karin was far from any kind of saint, but she didn’t kill people without reason. Whatever happened, he was convinced that these people had started it and she only did what she had to to save herself. He would’ve told Asako to run but there was a chorus of howls and ground shaking steps surrounding them. There was nowhere to run. They were surrounded by these giant beasts and Sasuke’s body was still worn down from the weird well experience. Nanisa lunged at him and he grabbed Asako and leapt over her head.

Sasuke unleashed a giant fireball towards the wild pack to buy them some time to run away. Where they were running to, they didn’t know. Cutting in between buildings and occasionally a house. Anywhere they could duck into that the dogs couldn’t. He spat more fireballs and suddenly there were burning buildings in the trail behind them. People were screaming and hustling to get out of the way.

“Sasuke! Up ahead! There’s another one!” Asako cried.

“I see it.” He replied as the chirping sound of his chidori ignited. There was so much target space but where would be the most effective. The eyes? They could smell them. He couldn’t get their heart, much too maneuvering required. He settled for taking out of the legs. At least it would slow them down. Sasuke looked to his left just in time to see a wolf coming at them, but not soon enough to evade it. The animal swatted at them with an oversized paw and the two of them were eating dirt. A small group of humans ran up and surrounded them with weapons Sasuke had never seen before and yelled at them to stay down. More men in uniforms arrived and began cuffing their hands behind their backs.

“Stay down! You’re under arrest for the destruction of property and terrorism!”

“What!?” Asako shrieked. “She attacked us!”

“Shut up!” One of the officers yelled. “I don’t wanna hear it!”

“What are you names?” Another officer yelled.

“Don’t say a word.” Sasuke hissed. This was unbelievable.

“Tough guy huh? You’ll talk. Don’t worry. Throw em in a cell! Separate!”

o.O.o

“I don’t think I’m doing this right.”

“Yeah that’s cause you’re not. If you were, it wouldn’t sound like a dying cat.” Karin sighed. She had wasted almost three gallons worth of milk trying to teach her newest barista how to properly steam milk. It could be tricky at times, she got that, but it was not the hardest thing in the world to do. Then again, this guy couldn’t seem to do anything right.

“I’m aerating the milk..maybe it’s just bad milk.”

“It’s not bad milk Scott. It’s not three gallons of bad milk. It’s bad you. Remember, hold the pitcher, make sure the steam wand is fully submerged, not a little submerged, fully submerged. It should sound like...a train whistle, aerate for 3-4 seconds, count it if you have to. Then, pull the steam wand out, just a little, not a lot. Until you get that paper ripping sound. Then prop it up and it should look like a whirlpool. A quiet whirlpool.”

This was Scott’s third day of bar training and Karin was so impatient that she had already told herself if he didn’t get it by now she was giving up on him. She never asked for him as a trainee anyways.

“You keep practicing your steaming and sequencing with the practice tumblers. I’ll make the real drinks for the customers. Until then, if you need me, I’ll be in the back doing my pull.” Scott nodded to her and Karin started off towards the backroom to do her pastry pull. She needed to get off the floor and just breathe for a moment. Today had put her strangely on edge and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Everything was going great for her as far as she knew. She had many friends, her boyfriend was amazing, she was advancing in her job. Her grades were stellar, she was connecting more with Valkyrie and she was using more and more fire spells. So why in the world did she feel like everything was about to go topsy turvy.

“You need to stop worrying.” Valkyrie told her.

“I can’t.” She whispered. Her co-workers had heard her having multiple conversations with herself by now, she didn’t know why she bothered whispering anymore but she did still.

“Well you need to.” The woman insisted. “My father always told me, when you worry about bad things happening, bad things happen.”

“Ugh, yeah, your father also killed you. Not exactly the kind of person I wanna take advice from.”

“He was right though. I worried about my father killing me and he did.”

“I can’t help it. I just...I feel like...I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe it. All I know is that, someone is gonna come into my life and fuck me over. I’ve never had things go so damn well in my life, of course it has to end.”

“Who do you think is coming?”

“Hmph...probably that bitch from last week. You remember, the one who tried to scam me out two free iced coffees?”

“...You think...a woman who tried to get free drinks..is gonna ruin your life?” Karin paused for a moment in her pastry pull. It was crazy and she knew this and she knew that Valkyrie knew that she knew this, but still. These caffeine addicts could be crazy.

“Yes.” She nodded. “She’s not gonna ruin my life per say, just my happiness. Hmm, is it time to go home yet?”

“You have four hours left.”

“Four? Are you kidding me? I had four hours, four hours ago!”

“No. You had four hours until you had four hours left of this shift four hours ago. That’s usually how an eight hour shift works.”

“Right. Why did I sign up for this again?”

“You’re trying to earn extra money to jumpstart your major career plan. Remember?”

“Oh oh...right.” Karin’s major career plan. She wanted to own her own business. As much as she loved science and biology she had come to terms with the fact that her business couldn’t be based around it. She needed to go to school first and major in the topic, learn about Saigonian science before she attempted to build an empire off of it.

She wanted to do something that made her feel powerful and in charge though. And the only way to do that was to become your own boss and everyone else’s boss. She decided she would do something small and easy. She would start very small and stick with something she was proficient with in this world. She would own her own coffee shop. It would have a better name, better coffee, and better workers. She would take the money that she earned from that to slowly start building her own empire. She would someday create her own perfume line as a small side project and to help rake in more money. There was also Kagura’s cookey idea to start their own cosmetics line. Karin didn’t care all that much for makeup, it was fun to point on and she knew how to use it, but Kagura had some weird obsession with it that started with lipsticks and evolved into something more. She offered the partnership to Kanna at first but Kanna decided it was too much work and she didn’t want to be bothered. Besides, she was much too busy with her puppets.

Yes, Karin had lots of business endeavors that she would soon begin. She just needed way more money first. She was living quite comfortably with her paycheck from the coffee shop. More so now that Roegan was getting her shit together and paying half the rent. But being able to live comfortable and occasionally splurging were very different from being able to start a business.

“Hey Karin,” Scott said over the mic, “we’ve got some customers out here.”

“I’m coming.” She replied. Scott was taking orders at the register and marking the cups for her as he went. At least that was helpful. She slung three medium cappuccinos, two small lattes, one extra small espresso macchiato and one large white mocha latte on the bar for an annoyingly loud group of people before returning and finishing her pull.

“Pull done, next...ah. Hey Rebecca, it’s 5:30, you can go home.” She told the girl doing dishes. Rebecca was always so quiet, Karin normally forgot about her.

“You sure?” Rebecca squeaked.

“Yeah, three and a half hours til closing. We’ll be fine.”

“Alright, I’ll see you next week Karin!”

“Yep, thanks kid.” Rebecca gathered her things from the back and clocked out, not before telling Scott bye of course. She had a crush on the new boy and Karin just didn’t see what she saw in him. Maybe it was because she personally found him to be an idiot.

“Young love is truly fascinating isn’t it?” Valkyrie cooed. The woman was a sucker for romance.

“Oh stop, they barely talk. Love isn’t in their vocabulary yet.”

“What about yours? You and Gabriel seem to be getting closer every time I turn around.”

“First of all, you don’t turn around. Second of all, his name is Gabe, not Gabriel. Gabriel is that weird short dude that always smiles and follows me around the BEssentials store.”

Gabe. Oh Gabe. They had been dating for almost nine months now. It just seemed to get better and better every day. It brought a small smile to her face when she thought about him. She wondered if he’d be at her apartment when she got home. It was always a nice surprise to feel his aura before she even walked in the building. To smell his scent the whole elevator ride up.

“He’s taking me to Poland.” She said.

“I know...I was there.” Valkyrie scoffed.

“I’m kind of nervous. His mother...she doesn’t even like him, I don’t know why he does this to himself ya know? Goes all the way there, to check on her and do for her and his brother and they just spit in his face all the time.” Gabe went to Poland very regularly. He went four times a year apparently, every third month for two weeks. Karin was always telling him how much she missed him when he was away so this time he decided he would bring her. She would meet his mother and his beloved younger brother. No one had ever introduced her to their family before. Not on this level at least.

Once she finished all of her shift supervisor duties she went back onto the floor to help Scott again. She spoke in her head to Valkyrie for the rest of the night while they worked and when nine hit and it was time to close shop, she sent Scott on his way and handled the rest of her responsibilities alone. It never took her long to count the money and do her deposits so she was on her own way home 15 minutes later. Like she’d anticipated, Gabe was indeed there, lounging on the couch watching ‘The Good Marriage’ by Stephen King. Roegan was there too, sitting on the floor glaring at the tv screen.

“Wait, so the husband was real?” She questioned.

“....What?” Gabe asked.

“The husband, he was home the whole time?”

“I mean..yeah, after his trip.”

“Oh shit, I thought she was hallucinating.”

“Okay.” Gabe muttered. He and Roegan weren’t besties, he thought she was a little on the dumb side and she was, but he tolerated her.

“Hello.” Karin cooed in his ear as she leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“Hey babe, how was work?” He asked before kissing her again, on the lips.

“Val thinks Rebecca and Scott are in love but he doesn’t know her name isn’t Rachel.” She told him. Gabe knew all about Valkyrie as did Roegan. It was their little secret. “I’m gonna take a shower...wash my back?”

o.O.o

Karin had discovered that there were a lot of pros to being an ultra sensitive immortal being. One of those pros, was sex. Her stamina had always been A plus, but now she didn’t have to stop at all if she didn’t want to. She could ride Gabe for days on days on top of days if she didn’t have so many other priorities to take care of.

She felt things she’d never felt before. Sensations so intense, so mind blowing that even after months of trying to, she still couldn’t describe it. Gabe’s hands groped her ass, squeezing her round cheeks, digging his sharp nails into her flesh. She braced herself with her hands on his chest, pressing her sex down flush against him and grinding roughly. Desperate to feel more and more of his skin against hers.

She tossed her head back moaning loudly as she felt her primal instincts start to take over. She bared her fangs and without warning bit down on his neck, tasting the familiar iron on her tongue. Gabe growled aloud at the pain and sadistic pleasure of being bitten and feeling her venom coursing through his veins. She pulled away and bit down again on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped her over. He raised himself on his knees and hooked his hands behind her knees.

“Fuuuck!” She moaned as his pace increased. Gabe laid on top of her and cocked her head to the side. His tongue darted out, licking a fresh vein before he bared his own fangs and bit into her neck. “Ahh!” She wrapped her legs around his waist tightly. She tried so hard not to think of _him_ as her climax hit her like a tsunami. Gabe came shortly after her and he planted soft kisses over her neck, right where he’d bitten her. It would burn for a little, but it was always fine after.

He pulled out of her a few minutes later and peeled the cum filled condom off, tossing it in the trash. Karin snuggled up to his side, hooking her arm around his neck and kissing him deeply. She nestled her head against his chin.

“Have you no shame?” Valkyrie asked her quietly. Karin smirked to herself. The woman was so old fashioned. She felt that missionary was the only way sex should be done. Anything else was just filthy.

“You have no idea how special you are to me.” He muttered stroking her hair. “So beautiful, so sweet, my angel.” Karin nestled him again. “One day..you’re gonna be my wife, you know that right?” He had said this to her once before. After he watched her eat two trays of sushi all by herself. Karin laughed then and she laughed now.

“Whatever Gabe.” She scoffed at him.

“Why are you laughing? I’m serious. I went to a fortune teller and I’ve seen our future.” He told her.

“Mm, really? Tell me then, what’s it like?”

“Amazing. We’re gonna have a summer wedding...a billion babies...twelve pit bulls and two of those angry little dogs you like.”

“Chihuahuas? Why only two?”

“Because they’re assholes baby. Don’t want too many of them running around. They might hurt the kids.”

“Right, my little chihuahuas are gonna hurt all one  
billion of our kids. Keep talking. Tell me about our house.”

“It’s a mansion of course. We have to be able to fit everyone. The mansion is gonna be the size of Saigon cause ya know...a billion kids. We’ll have ...eight inside pools, eight outside pools, eight kitchens...I know how you love the number eight.”

“I do.” She giggled. “You’re silly. You didn’t go see a fortune teller and we’re not getting married. Marriage is for crazy people.”

“Mmm, crazy people. Is that what you think?”

“Well that’s what I said isn’t it?”

“I guess I don’t get it. What’s so crazy about me loving you so much that I want to give you my everything. My name, my home, my life and every ounce of love that I have in my body? It sounds..pretty generous to me.”

“Now you’re really being crazy. You don’t love me. You love things about me.”

“I can love both. For instance, I love the color of your hair. I’ve never seen a red so bright. It matches your eyes and I find it fascinating. I love how your voice climbs three octaves when you’re embarrassed. Your face turns red and your cheeks puff up. I love it when you pout and you poke your lips out.

I love how you’re not afraid to be you. If you want something, you go get it. You don’t let people make your decisions for you, you’re not obsessed with playing follow the leader. You know what I love the most? That you’re flawed. You’re not perfect and it’s wonderful. You know what it’s like to make mistakes and grow from it. You know what pain feels like. Karin you’re everything I could ever dream of. Anyone would be lucky to be able to marry a woman like you. I’m lucky to just have a chance to be with a woman like you.

And I know you already gave your heart to someone else and sometimes it does hurt thinking that you’ll never love me as much as you love him, but I think..as long as you let me love you, care for you, protect you, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”

Gabe wasn’t usually such a talker. He kept his words short and the only time he really talked like this was when he was feeling very sentimental. It was something special. Sasuke had never said anything like that to her. She didn’t think he ever would have even if she hadn’t disappeared. Very deep down inside of Karin she’d always had that fear, the fear that she wasn’t good enough for anyone. She had isolated those thoughts and hid them beneath her deepest pits. Saigon has brought a lot out of her however. Being with Gabe had brought a lot out of her.

‘Well? Are you gonna say anything to him?’ Valkyrie asked her.

‘What do I say to that?’ She thought quickly. ‘I’m scared Valkyrie. I can feel it in my bones. He’s not lying, but...but what if I’m wrong? What if for the first time in my life, I’m wrong?’

‘Kagura said something the other day...when you two were going skydiving. It was your first time. What did she tell you?’

‘She said...she said that I should stop being a little chicken shit and just jump.’

‘Well there you have it. I vote we jump.’

She closed her eyes and sighed. The pros? He made her happy. He always supported her no matter what. He never pressured her to be somebody she wasn’t. He knew her so well. He accepted her. He already loved her. The cons? Nothing she could think of. Fuck this was so stressful.

Karin leaned up and kissed Gabe’s lips. “Guess what loser, I think I kinda love you too.”

o.O.o

Sasuke and Asako had been held in separate jail cells for hours. They had been questioned by authorities and neither of them had uttered a single word more about Karin, where they came from, or why they were there. If these people wanted answers, they would have to torture them in the wildest ways imaginable. The sun went down and was starting to rise again and neither of them had been fed or given water. Any time they closed their eyes to drift off to sleep the guards were banging on their cells to reawaken them. It wasn’t hell, but it was annoying.

The next day a man came to see them. A much older man with salt and pepper hair and years worth of wrinkles on his face. He went to Asako first and then he appeared in front of Sasuke, staring at him, taking in his features, judging him perhaps. Maybe this man was their Ibiki.

“My name is Mohe. I am the elder pack leader of Lycia. My children tell me you and your friend have caused quite the commotion. You’ve left much devastation behind.” The man said. Sasuke snorted from his spot. Was he supposed to be afraid of this old man?

“They also tell me that you came here looking for the red woman. Karin.” He said. He waited patiently for Sasuke to agree or to make some kind of telling movement, but he did neither. “It’s a shame really. It seems that...whenever that girl is involved, our home just keeps taking a beating. And for what? We are good people. We keep to ourselves, don’t disturb the others in the land. But time after time, my people have been murdered by the reckless actions of others and those same people are protected by a bunch of wealthy and ignorant night crawlers.”

“Look,” Sasuke grunted, “I don’t care for you or your people. I came here to find someone and your wolves attacked me and my company first. We did nothing but defend ourselves.”

“Wolves? They’re not wolves, my people and I..we are Lycan. There is a big difference.”

“Again, I don’t care. I don’t know of these night crawlers you speak of and as I said already, I don’t have any ill intent for you and your people. If you keep me here however, I can’t promise that I’ll behave for much longer.”

“Is that a threat?” Mohe muttered eyeing the raven haired man.

“Consider it a guarantee.” Mohe gave a light bitter smile to Sasuke.

“I don’t know who or what you are, or what fresh hell you came from….but I smell no fear in you whatsoever. You must have much power to live so carelessly, so without worry.”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” Mohe inhaled deeply and shook his head.

“I see.” He said. “Well, as I’m sure you’ve been informed, you and your friend are being charged with treason. It’s a much heavier crime than we’re sanctioned to handle so I’ve contacted the more proper authorities. They’ll be here in a moment to take you both away. Let it be known to you both though, we’ll be placing the same legal restraint on you that we placed on your friend. If step foot within Lycia property..you will be executed on the spot.”

o.O.o

Saigen and Kato were standing together on the opposite side of a large one way mirror. They had received a call from the receptionist at the Syndicate that two very interesting terrorists were being detained after being caught in Lycia. Normally the two of them would’ve left the matter in the capable hands of their interrogation team, especially considering they didn’t do much damage, but what brought them there was the person they had been looking for.

The two of them had been brought into one of the interrogation rooms immediately and sat down with Mercy, one of their interrogators.

“My name is Mercy, I’ll be interrogating the two of you today. Before we begin let’s make a few things clear. I’m going to ask for your full cooperation in this instance . If your cooperation is not given I am indeed authorized to do a memory core scan and record the information that I need. If you do provide your cooperation but I find that your story is compromised or believe you to be lying, I will be authorized to do a memory core scan.

If you think that escaping is an option, you are wrong. The cuffs that we have you placed in are made of juggernaut steel. In other words, they’re impossible for low level metahumans like the two of you to worm your way out of. If you do somehow happen to remove the cuffs and incapacitate me there are two elite bodyguards waiting just outside the door. They can see everything that goes on in here and they’ll surely stop you before you can escape. Lastly, if you have any kind of power to disappear from a room, it won’t work. This room has a magnetic magic force field that keeps your bodies bound to this room. Do you understand everything I’ve just told you?”

Truthfully, no, Sasuke didn’t understand everything she had said. He didn’t know what a juggernaut was and he didn’t know what a metahuman was. But in that instant he was so exhausted that he didn’t even care anymore. Asako didn’t look to be doing too much better either and he probably owed it to her to be honest and cooperative so that they could get themselves out of whatever situation they were now in. It was his fault that she was here anyways.

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha, this is my teammate Asako. We live in Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. We were on our way back home from completing a mission in another major village when we stopped off to avoid a terrible storm. A child came to us later that night and told us that he could help me find my friend. Her name is Karin Uzumaki, I...I’ve been searching for her, for years. He took us to a well that he said she’d been dragged into when she disappeared, we climbed in and something happened.

We came out the other side in a the forest and stumbled upon that stupid village of Lycia. We asked the women at the guard station if they’d seen Karin, they said they knew her that she visited and that they would take us to her. Fucking liars. One woman, Nanisa, was leading us through the village and then she started going off about how awful Karin was. She transformed into a wo-a Lycan. A bunch of others showed up and surrounded us.

I started the fires. They burned a few buildings and houses, purely accidental. We were trying to get away. There is no big secret terrorist attack. We don’t even know what country we’re supposed to be terrorizing. We got caught, they put us in jail. Starved us and interrogated us. Then sent us here. That’s it. Nothing more.”

Mercy was pleasantly surprised at how easily Sasuke had given up, but she wasn’t complaining. She always hated having the waste time putting suspects under for the brain scan. So troublesome. She recorded everything he said as he said it, word for word and then looked to the frail woman next to him.

“Do you corroborate this story?” She asked.

“Uh...yes. Everything he said is true.” She whispered. Mercy pursed her lips and looked them both over. They did look like they had been through the ringer. Heavy bags under their eyes, sunken cheeks and chapped lips.

“Right then. Let’s talk about your relationship with Ms. Uzumaki. How did you know her?”

“...Karin and I..we worked together. We were on a team together. She disappeared almost four years ago. Three years and eight months ago. I don’t know what happened exactly. Things were getting a little out of control. She was panicked a lot and then one day, we were on our way home and our team was ambushed. I woke up and she was gone. That’s all I know. Asako knows nothing about it. She wasn’t around when it happened. We only just met seven months ago.”

“Very good. We’re almost done in here. I just-

“Actually Mercy, I think we’re done here.” A man with a deep voice said. Sasuke and Asako’s tired, burning eyes followed the sound and rested on two men who had just entered. One freakishly tall man with rippling muscles and long silver hair that was done up in a high ponytail with a braid down the middle of his crown. He had jagged black stripes on either side of his face and amber eyes. The man next to him was almost like a print out copy only without the stripes, his hair was a darker silver and shorter was his height.

“Um sir. Are you sure?” Mercy asked hesitantly.

“I’m more than sure. Sasuke and Asako are friends of ours, there’s no need for any of this nonsense any longer. You’re relieved.” Saigen nodded.

“Right. Of course. Thank you sir. My Lord.” She added to Kato bowing slightly before him and then ducking out of the room. Saigen shut the door behind her and smiled widely at the two Shinobi in the room.

“Well isn’t this an interesting turn of events! First it was Karin and now it’s you two!” Saigen exclaimed.

“Karin never sat here.” Kato grumbled.

“Okay well, she’s in this building a lot so whatever. Anyways, you’re both very clearly exhausted. That’s normal for someone who isn’t used to jumping through the bone eaters well. It didn’t always use to be like that, but with all the magical enhancements we’ve put on it, it’s uh, it’s a pretty rough ride for first timers.” Saigen explained.

“We’re done interrogating the two of you.” Kato said. “We’ll be taking you to a halfway home to eat and sleep. The longer you prolong rest after a time jump or, dimensional jump I should say, the worse the effects are on your bodies.”

“Did you just..did you say ‘dimensional...jump?’” Asako mumbled. Saigen peered down at the girl and gave her a cheeky smile.

“Yes.” He said. “Forgive us for such an improper greeting. My name is Saigen Igarashi, this is my son, Kato Igarashi, we would both like to welcome the two of you to Saigon, a world and magic.”

o.O.o

Asako yawned wide and stretched her limbs. She rolled over on the soft, pillowy mattress and stared at the blank cream colored wall of her temporary room. As far as she knew she and Sasuke had been there for a few days. She wasn’t sure exactly how many as she’d been in and out of sleep ever since leaving the Syndicate with those two men. They’d taken them here, left them with a key and told them they’d check in on them to see how they were doing.

She had dreamed at one point that the shorter one and a woman were in her room. They didn't speak to her, but they spoke about her a little. He told her name, the woman said she was pretty, he told her she was here with Sasuke for Karin. They had placed a bag in a chair in the room and then they’d left. Asako rolled over to her right and saw that she hadn’t been dreaming at all. They had been there and they had left a hubag for her.

She stared at the bag and silently wondered what could be in there. The raven haired woman peeled back the fluffy blankets off her body. She should probably take a bath as well considering she hadn’t one since they’d left Suna. She cleared her throat as she strode over to the bag and unzipped it.

“Oh.” She whispered. It was full of clothes for her to wear. She wondered for a moment if Sasuke had already gotten up and received his bag of clothes but the apartment was still very quiet so he was probably sleeping still. Asako took the bag with her into the bathroom. It was...different from what she was used to. Black marble flooring and wall tiles. The tub was flush against the floor with steps leading down into it. There was a shower with frosted glass doors all around it as well. She decided to try that out.

She undressed herself in the bathroom, leaving her clothes in a neat pile just outside the shower door and then stepped inside. She’d never used one of these before, especially not one this technologically advanced. There was no knob like in the bath, just a small black panel with a bunch of different buttons on it. She hit the button labeled ‘on’ and then she tried to determine which option to hit next. The ‘jet stream’ option was very strong, a little too strong for her liking. The water was also cold so she slid the temperature meter to red. The ‘mist’ setting was a little too light for her but finally she settled on the ‘waterfall’ setting.

It felt wonderful on her skin and she could feel her tight muscles loosening and relaxing. She let the water run over her hair while she scratched her scalp clean. There were a few bottles of body wash and shampoo in there and she used them, squeezing the soap into her palms and rubbing her skin clean. It smelled heavenly. So clean and fresh. Back in her tiny rundown home village, she’d never been able to experience a bath this wonderful.

When her fingers started to prune up she turned off the water and stepped outside. There was a towel in the bag for her that she used to wrap around her body and dry off. Once she’d pulled on the clean clothes they’d brought her, she wrapped another towel around her hair and headed out of the room to find Sasuke. The smell of food being cooked led her to the kitchen where she expected to find him. Instead, there was a woman in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Her back was to Asako so all she could see was the wild curly ringlets of blonde hair that hung down her back.

“Hello?” Asako asked prompting the woman to turn around.

“Good morning!” She cheered merrily. It was the same woman who’d dropped off the clothes. “I hope you got enough sleep. You two were out for two days.”

“T-two days?” Asako scoffed.

“Well, not counting all the times you woke up and immediately went back to sleep.” She smiled.

“Oh wow. That’s crazy, but I do feel really relaxed and a lot better overall.” She told her.

“Well that’s wonderful. My name is Evanna Coburn by the way. I’m the human resources representative for the Royal Militia.”

“The Royal..Militia?”

“Yes, don’t fret too much about that right now. Sit, sit. I made pancakes, eggs and turkey bacon for you. Sasuke will be down soon, he’s in the shower. Once he arrives, we can all talk.” Asako nodded her head and took a seat at the table. Evanna set a large plate in front of her full of food. Normally she wouldn’t have thought she could finish it all, but today she was starving and determined.

“How do your clothes fit by the way? I figured you were only a little smaller than me.” Evanna asked as Asako dug into her pancakes.

“They’re perfect. Thank you.” Asako mumbled in between bites. Evanna nodded a gracious welcome as she fixed a second plate for Sasuke. She put the left overs in a few plastic containers and then began cleaning the dishes while Sasuke eventually sauntered into the room.

“Good morning, Sasuke!” Evanna cheered as she rinsed a plate.

“Good morning.” Sasuke grumbled. “Asako.” He nodded.

“How did you sleep?” She asked him.

“Well enough.” He shrugged.   
  
“Here you go. Breakfast.” Evanna smiled. Sasuke thanked her and picked up his fork to start carefully cutting the pancakes into small enough bites to eat. It was a slow process considering he only had one arm to use and no way of holding his plate steady. Sometimes things like this made her feel a little bad for Sasuke. He would probably kill her with a look if she said anything that sounded like she pitied him. Sasuke was a brave and prideful person and he was very particular about that arm situation.

“Sasuke, Evanna wants to speak with us. About..what she does I think.” She told him once he’d managed to cut half of his pancakes.

“Good. I think some discussions are in order. Where’s Saigen and Kato?” He asked.

“Oh Kato won’t be here for awhile. He and his daughters are on a small vacation to Egypt. Saigen is with the rest of the team, they have training today.”

“Is Karin with them?” Sasuke asked. Evanna smiled softly at Sasuke. She remembered how Karin first was when she got here. Kato said she asked for her friends a lot. Eventually she stopped asking and though she stopped asking, Kato always knew that she still thought of them. Now Sasuke was asking about her and things were starting to come full circle. Evanna grabbed a cup she’d had on the counter full of hot coffee and sat down at the table with the two of them.

“Yes. She is, and she’s fine. If you give me just a minute, I’ll explain to you what exactly is going on. As much of it as I can anyways.” She told them. Sasuke found some solace in finally hearing some good news about Karin. He figured if he was just a little more patient, he would hear even more about her.

“Go ahead then.” He said.

“Course.” She nodded. “Well, for starters the world you’re in now is known as Saigon. It’s...vastly different from your world in many ways. One thing we seem to have in common is that your people and my people both possess supernatural gifts. Eventually, probably today, I’m going to take you both into the outside world to try and get you acclimated but you both need to understand that this place can be dangerous for someone who doesn’t know what they’re getting themselves into.” She told them.

“No one is going to intentionally cause you harm, but you should still be cautious. Now, as for how you got here, it appears that the well you traveled through is somehow still operational. We believe it’s because it’s connected to Karin. There’s something on the opposite side of the well that’s keeping her connected to the Shinobi world rather I say.” She tried to refrain from smiling at Sasuke as she said this.

“When can we speak to her? I have a lot of questions as I’m sure you can imagine.”

“Of course. You’ll speak with her soon enough. We haven’t notified her of your arrival yet but she’ll be made aware today and then it’ll all be on her call.” Sasuke nodded idly in his seat. On the outside he supposed he was taking it well. Remaining calm and keeping his temper, but on the inside he was dying. His anxiety was reaching mass peaks and he didn’t really think he could wait any longer. He’d waited years and now when he was so close he was being made to wait again. Not much longer, he thought. Evanna would tell Karin and Karin would want to see him immediately. Except..she didn’t. He and Asako remained there for a week, exploring Saigon, talking to some of her teammates, and waiting impatiently for her before Sasuke finally lost it and declared that if she didn’t come to him he would just have to go find her himself.

The threat got back to her and finally, after entirely too much waiting, the red headed kunoichi finally came back to him.

o.O.o

After training Saigen had pulled Karin, Itachi, Obito, and Shisui aside and told them to meet him at his house in two hours. It was strange to Karin but she figured that maybe he just wanted to talk to them about an upcoming mission. When she arrived at Saigen’s house Mikoto, Fugaku, and Madara were there as well. She hadn’t seen Minato and Fugaku in months. They were apart of that elder council and they didn’t have to train or work with the others if they didn’t want to. Considering how busy they both were with other obligations, they probably didn’t have the time.

Brynn had made snacks for all of them as they sat in the living room. All Uchiha eyes on Karin probably wondering why she was here considering this seemed to be a thing more so for them. Saigen grinned down at Madara and asked him if he wanted to give them all the news which prompted an eye roll from the other man. What news?

“We have a visitor to Saigon.” Madara had said. “We’ve asked you all here because this particular visitor affects all of us.” Karin took a very very deep breath in and held it. Oh. She had absolutely nothing in common with these people except for one thing. One person. Sasuke. For the last few days she’d felt some strange feeling, a presence looming over her. But how? It couldn’t be, there’s no way he could’ve gotten here.

“It’s Sasuke..isn’t it?” Itachi questioned. She just needed to hear them say it.

“Yes. Sasuke has come to Saigon. And he hasn’t come alone.” Madara said. “Saigen says he has a woman with him.” Karin gasped a little. It was probably inappropriate considering she was in her own relationship but still, it hurt.

“The woman’s name is Asako. But that’s not really of relevance right now.” Saigen added. “We have a predicament on our hands. Karin...he wants to see you. Immediately.”

“Pfft, wow, of course he’d wanna see the ex girlfriend before he sees his family. How rude.” Obito grunted.

“I’m not his ex. We never dated jackass.” He was always too wrapped up in his own thoughts to ever notice her that way.

“He doesn’t know we’re alive idiot.” Madara spat in Obito’s direction.

“Which is where our predicament comes in,” Saigen cut in, “how do we tell him that his family has been alive and well for almost 2 years now?”

‘Oh God.’ Karin thought. He was going to hate her. She’d been missing without a word for 4 years, leaving all her friends to worry. Now he’s here and he’ll realize that not only was she alive, but she’s been coexisting alongside the one thing he’s ever wanted.

“So, just to clarify, you’ve already told him that I’m alive?” She asked.

“Yeah. Several times actually.” Saigen nodded.

“Oh dammit.” She groaned. “Okay well...tell him you lied and I’m dead and it was just a cruel prank and then send his ass back to Shinobi.” If they hadn’t been staring at her before they were definitely staring now.

“Karin..that’s awful.” Shisui said.

“Awful? You wanna know what’s awful!? Awful is me sitting there watching him cry himself  
to sleep night after night because someone told him that the brother he just watched die was actually trying to protect him and then living with that brother and not saying a damn thing about it!” She exclaimed glaring at Obito who feigned innocence. “This isn’t gonna fall on you all, this is gonna be my fault and I refuse to go through that!”

“Karin, while I understand your concerns, you can’t possibly expect us to just stay away from him can you?” Itachi asked.

“I haven’t seen him since he was just a small boy.” Mikoto said quietly with a solemn look on her face. Karin bit down on her bottom lip and looked away from the woman. She didn’t want to see Mikoto’s pain.

“We’ll be sure to explain to Sasuke that you had no say so in this.” Brynn told her with a pat on the shoulder.

“Ehh, I don’t know if that’s gonna work.” Obito said. “Fun story, Sasuke stabbed her through the chest one time because she got in the way of him killing Danzō, the guy that forced Itachi’s hand.”

“Oh, well had I known that wouldn’t have told him you were alive so many times. We won’t let him hurt you Karin.” Saigen told him in a serious tone.

“I’m not scared of him hurting me, I’m past that, he apologized. Look, I don’t want any part of this okay. If you guys have to tell him then tell him, but just..please leave me out of it.”

Karin left Saigen’s house before everyone else. She figured they stayed behind to figure out a perfect way to tell Sasuke about their existence. She herself went back to her apartment to change into some u h workout clothes and then she took off on the run of her life. It was still too much to believe. It was painful, it was unfair, it was amazing, and it was awful.

Sure she thought about him, but she had finally been moving on from him. She was happy with Gabe, she loved Gabe and they were planning a future together. She’d always wanted to be loved and be happy. She had that, Sasuke’s return would only complicate things. And she knew, she just knew, the minute he saw her again, he would want to try and take her back to Shinobi. Not only could she not go, but she didn’t want to go back. She missed him so much, she missed Jugo and hell she even missed Suigetsu, but there was nothing left there for her. She would return to Otogakure with Orochimaru where she would have to be his disciple and subject again. She would still be considered an enemy Shinobi and a criminal. She would have no friends aside from her few three and Sasuke probably wouldn’t stick around anyways. He would just continue traveling and leaving her behind like he did before.

Valkyrie. She would have to give up Valkyrie. She would also have to give up her power and then she would simply be reduced to the kunoichi she formerly was. She didn’t want any of that. She was a new and a better person here. She loved herself more than she ever had before it felt incredible.

Karin ran until the sun went down, until there were fewer and fewer cars on the street and until her body was dripping with sweat. Then she ran towards the RM’s private gym facility. There was a pool in there along with a jacuzzi for them to unwind in and she planned to make use of at least one of them. She stripped down to her bra and panties and dove headfirst into the pool. The cool water felt refreshing to her skin and her overactive mind. She held her knees against her chest and sank down to the bottom. She could do things like this now without needing to breathe and it was something she’d started to do more often. Just sitting there underwater, letting her mind drift. She didn’t feel as suffocated under there as she did above water and it was ironic. After sitting for a while she resorted to laying on her back and staring up at the watery ceiling.

“Are you really just going to avoid him? Let him think you’re dead?” Valkyrie asked her. She didn’t want to answer her, she didn’t come here to think about Sasuke, she came here to stop thinking about Sasuke dammit.

By the time she left the gym, the sun was slowly rising overhead and she knew that a few others would probably be headed that way. So she went home, she showered and she crawled into her bed to sleep.

On day 2 of Sasuke’s return, Karin had woken up in good spirits. She had managed to convince herself that she didn’t have to let this phase her. She was in a good place in her life and there was no changing that. She didn’t have to interact with him if she chose not to. He was apart of her past now and that was that. If his family wanted to meet with him well then so be it, but she was no longer connected to the Uchiha clan in any kind of way.

Besides today was the day that she and Gabe were flying out to Poland and she refused to ruin it with her unnecessary worrying. She spent almost the entirety of their flight, planting gentle kisses on his cheek, on his jawline, his shoulder, whatever little piece of skin that her lips could find. He didn’t question it, he didn’t protest it, Gabe always liked her kisses.

Before she’d left she’d typed out a well thought message and sent it to her crew to let them know where she stood on everything that was going on in Saigon and a few other things.

To: Royal Group Chat  
Message:

Dear Assholes,

Gabe and I are flying out to Poland for two weeks today. I’m well aware that some of you may have forgotten due to some unforeseen recent events and that’s fine, but do please try to refrain from contacting me about the ‘S’ situation and any other matters that aren’t absolutely life or death. Kagura, please remember that you promised to feed Gabe’s dogs Dutch and Princess. Be wary, Princess is a true bitch and she will bite you if you get too close to the puppies. Kanna and Rin, I’ll get you those souvenirs I promised. Other than that, if you’re not texting me to ask about Poland I’m ignoring you. That is all.

And then she turned her phone off for her flight anyways.

Gabe hadn’t told her much about Poland since he’d invited her there, he just kept stressing that it would be another cultural shock for her. And in a sense, it was. Poland was old; correction, Poland was very old compared to Saigon. It was more advanced than the shinobi world however.

Gabe’s family lived in Kraków, the second largest and practically oldest city there. His family home was a modest one, much smaller than the estate he lived in in Saigon, but he didn’t really buy that for himself either. His mother didn’t do much to dress up the home, it was plain and dark. Much colder inside than what was probably necessary but Gabe said not to worry about it. Dramatics were her thing and he would turn the heat on soon enough.

“Breaking thermometers is part of her theatrics.” Gabe explained. “She’s done it several times along with shortening light switches, letting the pipes freeze and burst, just anything to make it seem like I left her in a shithole. She thinks it’ll make me feel bad enough to buy her a house that she doesn’t need and can’t afford.” They found his mother seated in a rocking chair upstairs in her bedroom, watching a Polish comedy show. The woman glanced over her shoulder just long enough to take in their presence and then looked back towards the television.

“Karin, this is my mother, Kasi, mama...this is Karin, my girlfriend. We’re gonna be staying here for a few weeks remember?” Kasi rubbed at her forehead in frustration. She ran her left hand through her short blonde hair and shot up from her chair a lot faster than Karin thought was safe for someone so frail and thin. She smirked at the two of them as she sauntered over, closing the small space between them. She stopped in front of Karin, a few inches taller than her and stared down at the redhead.

“Um, it’s nice to finally meet you.” Karin said with uncertainty.

“Kaaariiiiin.” She drawled in her thick accent. “So this is your new girl huh? This is who you’re spending all my husbands money on now?”

“Where’s Finian?” Gabe asked ignoring her snarky comment.

“My son doesn’t wanna see you.” Kasi muttered as she continued her stare down assessment of Karin. Karin had initially figured she would be respectful because it was Gabe’s mother but respect was a two way street and if Kasi was going to be a bitch then Karin could be one too. She turned her nose up and cut her eyes at the woman to let her know she wasn’t backing down from her. This was going to be a very long trip.

o.O.o

Day two of her visit to Poland and day three of her avoiding the situation back home didn’t go any much smoother than the day before. Finian came home drunk around 4 a.m and he genuinely wasn’t happy to see Gabe back. He and Kasi, who had started drinking while Gabe and Karin were settling into their room, got into a screaming competition to see who could insult and shit talk him the most. Kasi was more of a pro and won that battle after Finian passed out on the living room floor.

Later on that morning after they’d both retired Gabe went through the house and drained every ounce of alcohol he could find, took any cash from them that they could use to purchase more alcohol, and finally shredded their bank cards. Of course this only led to a fight between the brothers, Gabe won and Kasi threw a fit of her own. Eventually she stopped being angry and got suspiciously happy. She had a date to go on and by the end of the night her date had given plenty of liquor and they were subjected to listening to her and her date fool around. Around this time Finian had also sobered up and apologized to Gabe for being so difficult earlier. It wasn’t a friendly apology, more like something he was doing just to do it, but it was laced with tension.

On day three, Karin found herself in an argument with a drunken Kasi about her intentions for Gabe or more accurately her intentions for Gabe’s money. The woman was accusing her of being a gold digger and Karin wasn’t standing for it. She worked hard for the money she had and though sometimes Gabe bought her nice things and splurged on her, she never demanded or expected it.

Finian hadn’t drank whatsoever that day so he had decided he would cook dinner for the four of them since Kasi couldn’t cook. He made his favorite dish Kielbasa. It was a sausage and potatoes and even though he’d burned the sausages a little it was still good. Not as good as when Gabe made it, but edible. He was also more cordial that day. He sat outside on the street with Karin and Gabe while the brothers shared a cigarette or two and passed around inside jokes that Karin didn’t understand, but she appreciated the fact that they made Gabe seem happy.

Day four is when Gabe decided they would get away from his childhood home and visit his grandparents. They didn’t live too far away from his mother and brother so they were able to take a short bus ride to their home. Karin was relieved because she remembered the stories about his sweet old grandparents. Very kind people who were very excited to meet her. And excited they were, they had an entire buffet laid out for Karin when she arrived. The atmosphere in their home was much different than in Gabe’s childhood home.

His grandparents, Raleigh and Jeana, were very welcoming. She received hugs from both of them practically before she walked through the door. His grandmother, Jeana, adored Karin’s red hair, it reminded her of roses. Raleigh, his grandfather, already had a whole list of things he wanted to show Karin. Of course it would all have to be tomorrow because today they had a lot of eating to do.

When traveling to other countries and worlds that were heavily populated with human civilians, you had to wear a binding band on your wrist to prevent you from using your magic to hurt people. For the last two years since being out of prison, if Karin ate human food she could ate insane amounts just because she chose to and she didn’t have to get full. Now she could get full and she got full very easily which made her feel bad that she couldn’t properly enjoy all the wonderful food they prepared for her.

Gabe was the same way however, a vampire who only ate because he could not because he needed to and now they were both trying to stuff just a few more pierogi’s down to appease the two sweet elderly people across from them. Once it was clear that neither of them would be able to put down another piece of anything they were freed from their feast. Jeana promised that she would plumpen them both up before they left here though because they just looked so hungry.

After dinner, Raleigh pulled out the baby books while they all let their stomachs settle. Jeana loved knitting and while Gabe was a little baby she always knitted him cute little onesies to wear. Karin was in love.

“He was always a chunky baby. As he got older, he grew upwards instead of outward.” Jeana explained from her comfy chair in the corner.

“Ah you see? This is Gabe in elementary school.” Raleigh showed her, pointing out how Gabe was taller than most of his classmates.

“Show her the picture of baby Gabe in his theatre play!” Jeana cheered.

“I don’t think she needs to see any of those pictures.” Gabe sighed.

“I don’t think anyone asked you.” Karin replied waving him off. “They made him play the singing tree!” She yelped upon seeing the actual photo. He looked as miserable as always, stuffed inside a tree costume with his little branches in his hands. “Aww he’s a droopy tree.”

“He always droops.” Jeana scoffed with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “I always told him that if he doesn’t smile he’ll never find a woman to love him. Women don’t like miserable men, they like happy men.”

“Well you certainly have a point Ms. Jeana, smiles are kinda my thing.”

“I’m glad he found you. That last girl he dated was just awful.” Jeana frowned, probably the first frown Karin had seen from her all day. “What was her name Raleigh?”

“Her name was Cara. She was a very deceitful girl.” The man said as he shook his head.

“She’s lucky I’m not the fiesty young woman I used to be,” Jeana continued adjusting her thick glasses, “no one hurts my grandson and gets away with it. His awful mother already does enough damage.”

“Grandma, it wasn’t that serious.” Gabe said rubbing his thumb across his knuckles.

“Well how serious was it?” Karin asked. “You’ve never told me about Cara.”

“No no, I’ve told you about Cara, I just ...never named her.” He replied. Karin purses her lips as she thought back quickly through the list of conversations she and Gabe had had about exes and unrequited loves. There was one ex that popped into her mind. He and this woman had dated for six years when he was a fresh young twenty something. Shortly into their sixth year, the woman (whom Karin is assuming to be Cara) cheated on Gabe with one of his close friends. She got pregnant and ran off with the guy leaving Gabe behind distraught, alone, and severely depressed.

It made Karin feel a little guilty thinking about it. She would never cheat on him, ever, but it reminded her that she hadn’t told him about Sasuke’s return yet.

“I’m glad Gabe found you. He seems so happy when he talks about you.” Raleigh told her with a soft smile.

Did she even have to tell him? She had already decided that she wouldn’t see him. That was enough wasn’t it? He wouldn’t have any reason to doubt her or to worry. But...what if Sasuke started looking for her? What if they took him to her? Gabe would find out and he would worry because she didn’t tell him because that’s just how it works. She felt her hands start to shake a little and she shoved them between her thighs and crossed her legs.

“Thank you,” she smiled, “I just..hope I never disappoint anyone.”

o.O.o

“His grandparents are amazing.” Karin smiled. She was FaceTiming with Kagura and Kanna, filling them in on her trip and showing Kanna the cool souvenirs she’d gotten her. “Jeana smells like chamomile all the time and it’s wonderful. She gives the absolute best hugs, they’re so warm and cozy. And Raleigh is the real sweetheart of the pair. He likes to cook and scrapbook with stamps? Oh, Jeana’s a knitter. She’s knitting me a sweater. Already halfway done.”

“What do they look like?” Kanna asked.

“Jeana is short and plump, she loves to eat. She’s determined to fatten Gabe and I up before we come back, but I’ve already gained enough weight the last few years. Anyways, she’s got long salt and pepper hair with two white strips in the front. Her eyes are light brown and she wears these big bifocals. They’re adorable. Raleigh is a little taller, balding on top with dusty grey hair around his head. His eyes are blue like Gabe’s, he may be old but his eyes are as young as ever. He’s got a little potbelly.”

“They sound adorable.” Kanna said flatly.

“What about his mom and his brother?” Kagura asked.

“Irrelevant. Finian isn’t as bad as I first thought, but his mother, Kasia, she’s a bitch. Don’t like her.” Karin spat. Kagura chuckled on the other side of the phone and Kanna asked where Gabe was at now. “Church. They didn’t make me go which was kind of them. Jeana’s only going to gossip anyways.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.” Kanna said.

“Thanks.” Karin nodded. “Um…how are things over there?”

“By ‘things’ are you referring to the Sasuke situation that you told us to keep to ourselves?” Kagura asked with a quirked eyebrow. Karin bit the inside of her cheek and nodded a little. She had wrestled with herself all night about asking, but she couldn’t shake her curiosities.

“Ahh well, the Uchiha clan can’t think of a way to explain it to Sasuke. They also can’t decide who should be apart of it and who shouldn’t.” Kagura told her.

“Huh?”

“Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi and Shisui feel that Madara and Obito should just stay away altogether. Itachi feels like he should be the one to meet with Sasuke first, Shisui doesn’t really have too much of a preference because he’s proving to be the only sane one at the moment, Mikoto wants she and Fugaku to go first and alone because it’s their son, and Madara and Obito want to recruit Sasuke over to Saigon to ‘complete’ their clan and Itachi thinks that if that’s where they’re headed with this then they should all just fuck off and that Sasuke should remain in the shinobi world where he’s most comfortable and at peace.” Kanna explained. “Honestly it's very ridiculous and if they all just put their egos aside they could figure out a compromise.”

“They’re all looking out for themselves basically. Saigen said until they can come up with an idea that won’t give Sasuke a stroke he’s keeping his location on lockdown.” Kagura added.

“Ah, I see.”

“It would be easier if you just met with him and told him what happened.” Kanna said decidedly.

“Aww Kanna,” Karin cooed, “I didn’t ask!”

“Hear us out though,” Kagura added, “wouldn’t it be nice if you could control what happened? He’s probably gonna find out either way so maybe it’ll be better if you just explain it yourself and let him know that you had no say so in it rather than his family going to him and being like ‘yeah we’ve been alive for two years and working with Karin!’ right?”

“Maybe he’s done a lot of growing in the years.” Kanna said. “He’d be more understanding.” The way they were putting it..it reminded her of Gabe and her dilemma with him. So many dilemmas brewing.

“Do I tell Gabe?” She asked.

“Of course.” They answered simultaneously. “You were kinda in love with this kid. Probably just toss Gabe a heads up, ya know?” Kagura added.

“It’s only fair. This way you’re not lying to anyone.” Gabe and his grandparents returned about 45 minutes after she hung up with Kagura and Kanna. Though they’d given her some pretty solid advice, she was still completely unprepared for everything that was about to unravel. His grandparents were even sweeter after they received the lord’s word and it only made it harder because they liked her so much. After dinner however, on day five, while she and Gabe were cuddling in their room she told him that they needed to talk.

She’d only talked to him about Sasuke once before and she’d never mentioned him again. When she was talking about him, she tried to remain calm, play it off like she was over him and like he didn’t matter to her anymore but she obviously did a shit job because she didn’t like the way it made Gabe feel. The worry and the sadness in his aura whenever he could tell she was thinking about him always made her feel guilty. And now she was having to tell him that Sasuke was indeed back and was looking for her. She half expected him to kick her out of his grandparents house, but he remained very calm about it. He pursed his lips while he spoke to her, he listened and mulled over what she was saying and after giving it much thought and consideration he responded to her.

“We’ll go back early then.” He decided. “You go see Sasuke, talk to him, whatever you need to do I guess.” Karin lay there, blinking and staring blankly at him. Was that it? Would there be no yelling? No screaming? Wasn’t he even gonna tell Jeana so the woman could beat her with Raleigh’s cane?

“What?” She asked confused. Gabe shrugged next to her.

“What do you want me to say Karin? We may be in a relationship, but you’re still a grown woman. I can’t tell you who you can and can’t see. I know that Sasuke is a touchy subject for you, but ...I trust you. Maybe this talk, maybe it’d be the closure you needed all this time.” Closure would be nice and she appreciated his kind words and encouragement, but him trusting her just felt like more pressure.

Karin moved to straddle Gabe under the blankets and she kissed him. His arms encircled her hips pulling her down, flush against him as he kissed her back, deeply. She slid her hand up across his bare chest, caressing the rippling muscles and in return his large hands squeezed at her cheeks; dragging her hips along his midsection.

She could feel Gabe’s growing erection through his boxers and she ached for it. She was scared, she was nervous, she felt anxious and she needed him. Karin pulled his hard length out from the slit in his boxers and began stroking him slowly. His own hand covered hers, assisting her in her slow stroke. He let his head fall back as a breathless groan slipped past his lips. Karin’s lips pecked at his chin, then she licked at his adam’s apple. She felt his free hand tug at her lacy thong, pulling it to the side, out of his way and Karin wasted no time positioning herself over the tip of his leaking member. She bit her lip hard in an effort to keep from crying out as he slowly pushed into her because the last thing she wanted was to give Jeana and Raleigh a stroke.

Karin relinquished her control to Gabe, allowing him to set the pace, determine the power behind every thrust. It was slow and methodical, teasing almost; but she loved it. She felt every inch of him moving inside of her. Fitting snugly between her contracting walls.

“I love you.” She whispered breathlessly, gripping a handful of his hair. The old mattress beneath them creaked a little as his thrusts became harsher. Her hips bucked restlessly and his hands were back again, controlling her, steadying her. With every rough upward thrust Karin felt herself coming closer and closer to her climax.

“Ahh Gabe,” she moaned, “fuck I’m gonna cum.”

“Shit.” He hissed through gritted teeth. His pace quickened as her walls tightened around him. Her thighs clenched on the sides of his waist as she came, spilling her essence all over his pulsating cock. And shortly after Gabe was spilling his load inside of her. They laid there like that for a minute and Gabe softly kissed her temple.

“I love you too Karin,” he breathed, “you have no idea.”

o.O.o

Leaving Gabe’s family was hard, mainly his grandparents. She didn’t get to experience everything they wanted to show her and she felt bad about that, but Gabe insisted that it was better for her to just deal with Sasuke now instead of putting him off forever. Jeana sent her off with many hugs and a brand new sweater and Raleigh gave her a small photo album he had full of pictures that he and his family had taken at historical sights in Poland. He told her that next time she visited he expected her to have a top three must visit list. On the other hand, when she said goodbye to Kasi and Finian, she didn’t feel nearly as bad about it. She had been ready to leave those two behind the minute she’d met them.

The plane ride all the way home was almost nauseating, but she managed to hold it together and keep from stress vomiting. She had already made the decision that she wouldn’t run straight to Sasuke to talk to him, she’d give herself a break, maybe a chance to readjust. She’d also decided she would leave her wristband on because the last thing she wanted to do was get there and take a bike out of his neck. She did always love the way his chakra felt, it was practically the same now with blood.

The next morning she woke up and knew that today was the day. She slipped into a pair of black ripped skinny jeans, a black spaghetti strap tank top with a burgundy cardigan and a pair of black shoes. She stared at her outfit in the mirror for a few minutes as she tried to determine whether or not it was too much. It wasn’t, it was fine. They were just clothes and besides she used to wear much less around him. Before she left, she filled in her eyebrows a little and applied a layer of deep wine red lipstick that she’d gotten from Kagura. And then she texted Saigen for the address and headed out.

She should have known that he would be in one of the halfway houses for people who fled to Saigon and hadn’t found a permanent home yet. She could sense him, he was in there. He was frustrated and angry and tired and he was in there. There was another, unfamiliar chakra signature with him. This one was much more calm, still tired but it was there. She turned off the ignition to her car and slowly climbed the steps towards the door. She knocked and her palms grew steady. Her heart began to race.

Karin turned her back towards the door and scratched nervously at her wrists and suddenly the binding bracelet just seemed like a major inconvenience. For a split second she thought about running but she heard the knob turn on the door and she knew it was too late. Her breath hitched in her throat.

“Karin.”


	11. Back to Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there was a car accident, school is getting crazy, and I'm officially a temporary legal guardian. In other words, life is happening and it sucks and it took me forever to finish this chapter. I don't even know if I like it. If you like it, let me know, I could use a pick me up.

Chapter E.l.e.v.e.n: Back to Reality

Naruto sent Sasuke and Asako out almost two weeks ago and he hadn’t heard a word from this since. The first thing he did was reach out to Gaara, asking his friend if he’d seen the pair and Gaara quickly responded by telling the blonde that Sasuke and Asako had left Suna almost as soon as they had arrived. He’d assumed they’d made it back. After speaking briefly with Gaara he moved on to his next option. A retrieval task force was assembled to go out, search, find, and bring home Sasuke. Oh and Asako of course. They returned empty handed just as he’d feared and he could sense his worst nightmare coming true. Sasuke was either seriously hurt or dead  _ or _ he had resigned to leaving Konoha again. 

He didn’t want to believe the latter, he couldn’t believe it. Things had been going so well between he and Sasuke. They were happy, they were in love. Didn’t that mean anything to Sasuke? Didn’t  _ he  _ mean anything to Sasuke? Why did he keep doing this? Why did he keep tearing his heart out and stomping on it? It was the worst feeling in the world; having the one person you want more than anything..so close and never being able to truly have them. 

He was sitting on his couch, in worn out pajamas with bags under his eyes and a heavy weight on his shoulder when he heard a steady knock on his door. He didn’t have the energy to get up or even verbally call out to invite them in, but it didn’t seem to matter because they came in anyways. It was Sakura and Shikamaru, a strange pair to be traveling together, but not strange at all that they were here. They were concerned and worried and they had a right to be he supposed. 

Shikamaru entered the living room and slumped down on the couch next to him while Sakura stood at the armrest and hovered over his figure. The pink haired kunoichi took in her friends appearance and slowly shaking her head disapprovingly. 

“You’re a mess Naruto.” She sighed. “Look at you, have you even showered today?” She asked. He in fact hadn’t and it didn’t even matter to him.

“Still no word from Sasuke huh?” Shikamaru mumbled out. Naruto grumbled into his comforting pillow and Shikamaru took that as a ‘no.’ “Right then, what if I told you that I think I know where he is?” And with that, the brunette had the blonde’s attention. 

“Huh? What do you mean you know where Sasuke is?”

“It’s not concrete.” Sakura commented while glaring at Shikamaru. She had advised the man not to bring the topic up to Naruto. It sounded wild and hurtful and it certainly wasn’t what Naruto needed to hear the moment. 

“It’s not concrete but it’s the closest thing we have to concrete.” He countered. 

“Well, tell me! Don’t keep me waiting Shikamaru!” Naruto demanded tossing the pillow to the floor and leaning over uncomfortably close to his friend to display his urgency. 

“Calm down, you’re so troublesome. Look doesn’t any of this seem familiar to you? One minute everyone has eyes on Sasuke and now, no one from any nation has seen him in weeks? He’s just disappeared into thin air….none of this rouses your memory?” 

“Oh..you mean..like...when Karin vanished.” Naruto said, his voice getting softer as he finished his statement. A thin silence stretched between the three of them and Naruto began registering what his friends had come here to tell him. “So, you think Sasuke is dead?” 

“Wha-no you idiot!” Shikamaru scoffed. 

“Shikamaru.” Sakura chided. “Naruto, what this pessimistic prick here is trying to say is that  _ he _ thinks Sasuke ….ran off with Karin. Despite all the evidence, he refuses to believe that she’s dead.” 

“You’re crazy Shikamaru.” Naruto sighed with a slow roll of his eyes. 

“I’m crazy? What evidence? There was no body found Naruto. She had dozens of enemies and all of them were cleared of  _ any  _ wrongdoing. Her mentor has magically disappeared after being questioned about her whereabouts and now Sasuke, the only other person she trusted more than her mentor is gone as well. Naruto, the missing Akatsuki bodies were never found, something is going on here. You’re being played. Did you tell Sasuke any important details about the village?”

“No! Stop, Shikamaru, stop it! That’s ridiculous! We’ve been at peace for years since the war! Those bodies are gone yes, but nothing has happened! No one has been hurt and this entire theory is just stupid! Sasuke would never!” 

“Would never? Do you hear yourself Naruto? You’re forgetting that he did. He  _ did _ abandon the village, he  _ did _ turn rogue and work for the enemy, he  _ did _ attack you on multiple-

“Enough!” Naruto growled rising from his previous spot. His hands were balled up at his sides, shaking with rage. He wasn’t angry because he was surprised, not at all. He knew Sasuke’s return had left quite a bad taste in almost everyone’s mouth, but he had just hoped that maybe, over time, they would go back to the way things were where they all tolerated each other. “That’s enough, just stop. I get it okay, you’re not happy that he came back, but please Shikamaru. You don’t know Sasuke like I do. He promised me.” He just had to trust in his boyfriend, in the love of his life. If he didn’t have faith in Sasuke, who would? 

“Everything is fine.” He reiterated firmly. “Sasuke is gonna come back. Believe me or don’t, I don’t care, but keep your fucking conspiracies to yourself.”

“Naruto calm down,” Sakura chimed, “we didn’t mean to upset you, it’s just...we’re so worried about you Naruto.” 

“You don’t need to be.” The blonde cut quickly. “For the last time, everything is fine. Sasuke’s not gonna make me chase after him again. He’s probably been tailed by an enemy shinobi and he had to deal with them. He’ll be back Sakura.” 

“Whatever, this is ridiculous.” Shikamaru grumbled as he raised himself up from the couch. “You’re too blind to face the real facts. Your boyfriend fucked you over, probably in favor of some girl he used to know and I don’t know how, but somehow, this is gonna bite the leaf in the ass and you’re the only one who doesn’t see it.” 

Shikamaru left, shortly after him Sakura followed suit and Naruto was left to mull over their argument. He thought about it during dinner, he thought about it during his bath. He would lay in his bed and stare at the empty spot on the bed and hope that by the next sunrise Sasuke would be there. But he never was and Naruto’s worst fears were starting to seem more and more realistic. Since he couldn’t talk to Sasuke himself, he would have to make contact with the two other people who absolutely  _ had  _ to know where he was. 

Suigetsu and Jugo were living in the old and newly renovated Uchiha compound. They weren’t too active in the village, they ran their missions when they were asked and maybe they were spotted with Sasuke and Asako in the village market doing a bit of shopping but that was it. They kept to themselves and they kept quiet, exactly the way he preferred it. 

He never really liked the two of them if he had to be honest and it was no secret. He strongly preferred Jugo over Suigetsu, but he didn’t think either of them were good influences on Sasuke. Maybe that’s why Suigetsu carried such a smug look on his face when Naruto showed up at their door. It’s like everything he said was taunting to Naruto. It practically screamed ‘I know something that you don’t’ and it ate at him. 

“What are you gonna do for us if we tell you where Sasuke went?” The white haired asshat had said with a mischievous grin. Naruto frowned deeply and folded his arms over his chest. 

“I’m letting you live here without repercussions for your crimes. You get nothing else from me.” 

“Lame.” He snorted.

“Suigetsu, Naruto is right, he’s doing us a favor.” Jugo sighed. “Unfortunately Naruto, we don’t know where Sasuke and Asako are. They never returned from their mission. We assumed maybe he’d made a stop at one of the hideouts. Maybe they’re getting something or maybe a storm got in their way.” 

The blonde stared at the bigger man and studied his expression. Jugo always wore a neutral expression. He looked constantly bored and tired all at the same time. He wished he knew Jugo better solely so he would be able to tell when and if he was lying. 

“What could they be getting from a hideout?” He pried. 

“Stuff obviously.” Suigetsu replied. “Look, don’t think that just cause you’re doing us a ‘favor’ we’re gonna start sharing all of our team secrets. We get it, you and Sasuke are ‘in love’ or whatever the fuck that means, but if he hasn’t told you everything about Taka yet then it obviously means he doesn’t want you to know.” Naruto’s cerulean eyes widened and his hands came to grip his knees angrily. 

“Just who the hell do you think you are?!” Naruto roared leaning forward a little. 

“Ha, I think I’m the guy who knows more about your boyfriend then you do.” Suigetsu laughed, leaning forward himself. 

“Suigetsu, please.” Jugo groaned resting a hand on his smaller companions shoulder. “Naruto, I apologize for his behavior...but, Suigetsu has a small point. The things that go on between Taka are private and Sasuke trusts us not to run our mouths off the first minute he ventures off again.” 

“But what if he isn’t just venturing off!? What if he’s hurt?!” 

“Then we’ll do what we do best. Find and help him. Something you don’t quite know how to do yet.” Suigetsu muttered. 

“You think I don’t know how to help Sasuke?” The Hokage scoffed. 

“I think I remember you and the Leaf chasing him down for years, trying to constantly guilt and manipulate him into coming home to a place he didn’t want to be simply because you all wanted him here. Remind me again, how many times did he have to try and kill you before you finally got the hint?” Naruto had never been accused of being manipulative before, but hearing it come out of Suigetsu’s mouth pissed him off more than he would have liked it to. It carried so much impact with it, coming from someone who Sasuke had such a painfully strong connection with. Normally if Suigetsu was just mouthing off to mouth off, Jugo would step in and stop him, but he didn’t this time. Did he agree? Was Suigetsu repeating something he’d been told? Is this how Sasuke felt? 

“Why don’t you just come out and ask us what you really want to ask us?” Suigetsu continued. “We don’t do much shit around here, but we hear the rumors. The villagers think Karin is alive. They think she’s runnin’ some deep underground gang with the Akatsuki. The, dead Akatsuki, may I add. Ha, pathetic. You people didn’t like her when she was alive and it didn’t take long at all for you guys to start slandering her after she’s dead too. 

I’ll be honest with you, blondie. Sasuke, he’s kind of fucked in the head and sometimes I think he still thinks she’s around here somewhere, but she’s not and the more you fuel this notion that she’s out there planning some massive attack on a village she didn’t give two flying fucks for, the more you’re fueling the thought that maybe he can still find her and ‘save her.’ Cut it out. Let her rest in fucking peace.” 

“I know that you don’t think highly of us, but Sasuke does.” Jugo added. “We can’t tell you where he is or what he’s doing because we honestly don’t know, but I promise you, the rumors aren’t true. Karin is dead, Sasuke is not out plotting to take over the world with her and that, Naruto Uzumaki, is my word.” 

o.O.o

She had stood outside for at least five minutes, just staring at him silently before she finally agreed to come inside and sit down. She was quiet, eerily quiet as she sat across the table from him. He held a small tea cup in his grip to keep his hand from shaking as he processed this, as he took in her appearance. Her blood red hair was cut differently, it was all even and to some it may not have seemed like much but to him it was such a drastic change from her wild and uneven hairstyle when they were younger. She hadn’t looked at him since she sat down and though he’d just stared down into her ruby orbs only a few minutes again he found that he missed them already. Probably the side effects of not seeing them for almost four years. 

He’d noticed she’d gained some weight, but it didn’t look bad on her. It filled out her form, made her look more womanly than she had before. She had always been pale, but she looked a little paler than before. Not sickeningly pale, but pale enough. He fought the urge to close the distance between them and touch her cheek. Just to see what would happen, to make sure she wouldn’t disappear, because it seemed like she would fly away at any given moment, without any warning, just like last time. It made him unbearably nervous, terribly uneasy. Sasuke Uchiha  _ hated  _ feeling that way. 

“Karin.” He tried to sound brave and strong, but his voice was hoarse and was barely above a whisper. He took a moment to clear his throat. “Karin,” he tried again, “I...I need you to say something.” It still sounded weak, but he couldn’t even help it at this point. She squirmed in her seat ever so slightly and then finally, she looked at him again. 

“Right.” She whispered. “I suppose, I have a lot to say to you.” He released a breath he had no idea he was holding. She’d finally spoken to him. Her voice, just as raspy and deep as it always was. It brought with it a whirlwind of memories. “Maybe...maybe it’d be easier for you to ask the questions and I’ll-I’ll be honest, Sasuke. I promise.” 

“Okay.” He said glad he was finally finding his voice again. “What the fuck happened, Karin? You were there, you were right there, right next to me and then you were gone. I heard you screaming and you were gone. I thought you were dead.” 

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t be wrong...technically. It’s very strange Sasuke. Everything about this place, it’s all so strange, but so incredibly beautiful. In a sense...I became...a jinchuriki. Yes, that’s the best way to explain it. An ancient, demonic entity possessed me and brought me here. The people I work with now, they cleansed the spirit and saved my life. The spirit of that entity still lives inside of me but she’s not so much of a bitch now. Kinda nice actually…” She waited for Sasuke to ask the next question, he took his time. He was logging everything she said into his head, internalizing it. Trying to understand the concept. 

“Alright. After they saved you...why didn’t you come back home?” Karin thought about how she should answer this question without confusing him. 

“Sasuke, I did a lot of bad things while I was possessed. These guys, they don’t fault me for it, but...at the time people were upset. They were hurt and they couldn’t just let me go scott free. Especially not with such a powerful and unstable spirit inside me. I went to prison for 2 years. While I was in prison...it was decided that I would stay here and learn to control my new gifts and I would use them to help benefit and protect the country. When the idea was first proposed to me, I was angry and hurt and scared and I just wanted to go home, but now…

Sasuke I love it here. I’m, I’m so happy here.” She sniffled feeling her emotions well up inside of her. “I know that you probably expect me to go back, but I’m not and I don’t want to. Saigon has changed me for the better Sasuke. I’m not just a medic or a sensory ninja now. I’m a warrior. I’m skilled in combat, I can use my chakra for ninjutsu, I have control of more than one chakra nature, I’m faster, I’m so much better Sasuke.” 

“It’s that nice huh?” He smirked. He didn’t mean for it so sound so bitter and angry, but it did and he knew immediately that she could tell. It was too late to take it back now and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. “Suigetsu, Jugo, and I...we waited for you Karin. We searched for you...for  _ years.  _ I  _ never _ gave up on you. I want you to be happy and proud of yourself, but you didn’t say anything. You never gave us a sign, you never came back just to at least tell us that you were alright, that we could stop worrying and finally sleep again without thinking the worst had happened to you. How could you do that?”

Karin blinked and glared at the table that her hands were resting on. She had worried about this happening. Dammit why couldn’t he just see that she was happy and let her be happy? Why did he have to make her feel so shitty about her happiness? 

“I didn’t have a choice Sasuke, I changed in prison. I mean I drastically fucking changed. After I got out everything was different for me. I couldn’t...I couldn’t be around ‘normal’ people without feeling like I was going to pounce on them and sink my teeth into their flesh.” Her statement definitely had him looking at her with wild eyes. It was probably crazy to hear and she would have phrased it differently but how do you gently tell someone you’re a vampire? “Earlier when I said you weren’t wrong, I meant it. If you touched my chest, placed your hand over my heart, it doesn’t beat. It doesn’t move, it doesn’t do anything anymore. Sometimes, when I get anxious and overwhelmed or angry even, it feels like it’s moving, but it’s just my imagination. I’m dead Sasuke, I’m an immortal being who drinks blood to survive and to keep myself from flying off the handle and sometimes I eat real food just because I wanna feel normal again, but I’m not.”

“Even if I had been able to go back to Shinobi and see you, the possibility of what I could have done to the three of you still haunts me.” Sasuke continued to look awestruck at her confession so she figured she may as well keep confessing. 

“This next part, it might piss you off. No, it will piss you off but I want you to know I tried so hard to keep it from happening and afterwards I felt very bad. Before I came here, the Royal Militia was a very small group and when I attacked the country their army was spread very thin. They recruited quite a few people from my...from... _ our _ past to help expand their ranks. Those people include the Leaf’s first Hokage and his wife...the Akatsuki...and...your family.” 

Karin’s skin was already chilled, but the temperature in the room dropped to below freezing and her stomach felt queasy. His entire expression changed just like that. His confused and widened eyes took on a hard nature that she’d seen before, when he was royally pissed off and looking for a tree to chop down. 

“My family?” He repeated. She nodded. “My brother?” She nodded slower. “You...you let them...resurrect my brother. So he could fight in their army? You let me live...for years...without my brother.” Everything he was saying sounded like deja vu, probably because she’d had a dream about this and in her dream it played it exactly like this. She just hoped he didn’t try to kill her again. 

“I’m sorry.” She apologized. “I had no say in it. If it helps, he wants to see you. I can take you to him.” She offered. 

Sasuke bit his lip so hard he tasted the coppery notes of blood. This wasn’t turning out at all like he’d figured it would. He wasn’t sure what would actually happen, or what he even wanted to happen, but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t supposed to be the feeling of rage and the blood boiling in his veins. It wasn’t supposed to be the feeling of deep cutting betrayal and deceit. It wasn’t supposed to be him getting rejected and seemingly pushed away by the woman he’d longed to see for so long. He usually hated physical contact but he  _ wanted  _ her to run and hug him the way she used to do when they were younger. He  _ wanted  _ to hear her squeal and say his name in that strange high pitched voice of hers. He  _ wanted _ her to be happy to see him again and he  _ wanted  _ her to  _ want  _ to come home with him. But none of that was happening. 

“Sasuke?” She called, regaining his attention. He wasn’t sure when she’d gotten so close, but she was leaning over in front of him, staring intently at him. He was seeing her up close now, so close. “You’re upset. Don’t be upset with me. I thought with every piece of me that I would never see you again Sasuke, and here you are. Sitting right in front of me, more handsome than ever. I know I hurt you with all of this, but you’re here now and I just want to catch up on lost time with you before we have to go our separate ways again. Think of it this way, Uchiha,” she added straightening up and placing a hand on her hip, “you can take advantage of the opportunity that is presenting itself to you or you can be angry and wallow around in misery. The decision is yours, but if you ask me, I think you’ve had to wallow enough.” 

His eyes looked her over again, from head to toe now. She’d changed so much, but when she stood in that position, with her hip jutting to the side and her hand firmly placed, polished with an affirmative scowl on her pretty face, she looked like herself. She looked like Karin and she sounded like Karin, telling him to stop having a pity party for himself. It made his anger melt away. She was still in there, she was still his Karin. She was simply much more mature and level headed now. He stood up from his chair and she narrowed her eyes at him, leveling her nose to his chin. 

“You’re right Karin.” He admitted. “You’re always right. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t fully understand what’s happening, but you’re okay for the most part and you seem happy.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“So...you won’t attempt to kidnap and drag me back to the Shinobi world?” 

“I won’t do that. I would like you to take me to see my family and after that, I would like to stay here a little longer, spend time with you Karin.” 

“You..wanna spend time..with me?” She gawked slightly, a slight blush in her cheeks. It pulled a smirk to his lips. 

“You’ve always supported me, now I will support you, show me your Saigon, Karin.” 

o.O.o

The Uchiha clan gathered together quite often as part of a way to keep in contact with each other. The act was mostly treated like some sort of contractual obligation and it was never a particularly joyous occasion. The only ones who ever really seemed to be outwardly enjoying themselves were Mikoto and Shisui. They were always smiling and laughing despite the apparent sour mood of their other family members. This gathering today was different as they would be reuniting with the lost member of their family, Sasuke. 

Initially the plan was to make contact with him immediately, but after several arguments about who and when and in what order, Saigon banned them from seeing the younger Uchiha until they could come to a mutual agreement. Then, after an even longer and more tiresome discussion led by Madara, the decision was made to not make contact with Sasuke. He rationalized it this way, Sasuke would have to return to the Shinobi world. As a member of the elder council he’d sat in on several briefings about this particular topic. The risk of Karin losing stability was far too great. She had a long and rocky history with Sasuke that could prove to be detrimental to her current state. Sasuke being reunited with Itachi and his parents would undoubtedly prompt his desire to stay here in Saigon and then of course there was the promise of more power. It was just too risky at the end of the day. 

But then he got a phone call from Karin. It was a Wednesday and he was furniture shopping with Evanna. She wanted to renovate her home and since they were in a team stable now, she felt the need to always invite him to do things with her. He was very reluctant do much of anything with her because her chipper disposition in life annoyed him, but well, he had to be familiar with his teammate. The phone call he’d received was quite brief actually. 

“Hello..Madara? It’s Karin, I decided to meet with Sasuke after all and I told him about the Uchihas. Obviously he wants to see Itachi and his parents, but I don’t think he minds you other ones tagging along. Anyways I just wanted to let you know, but we’re actually busy right now, so I have to go now, goodbye.” And then she’d hung up. He would think that after spending years in her presence he would be somewhat used to her annoying and aggravating behavior, but that was not the case at all. 

All the arguing he had done to defend his decision and Karin throws it all out the window with not even the slightest warning. 

So here they all were now, huddled together and waiting in tense silence for Karin to arrive with their guest of honor. The minutes ticked by, and they kept ticking and they kept ticking and he could clearly tell that people were starting to get impatient. Ever so often, Itachi would rise and peer out the window to see if they were here yet. Then he would sit down and angrily fold his arms over his chest and cross his legs. Mikoto had taken to twirling her hair when she wasn’t moving around and when she wasn’t twirling her hair she was constantly trying to busy herself. Maybe a picture frame was off center or the rug wasn’t straight enough, whatever it was, the woman was on it. 

This went on for almost forty-five minutes before a familiar sensation wove its way through the room. It was Karin’s clear cut chakra signature and the distorted signature of someone that could only be Sasuke. For several people, time stopped. For Madara the angst of getting this all over with became even greater. Their signatures were getting closer and there was a slow, sturdy knocking at the front door. 

Madara pushed off of the wall he had been leaning against and went to answer it, smug grin and all. He opened the door and came face to face with the red devil and the youngest member of his revived clan. 

“Well, look who it is.” He drawled. He figures this will give the others time to compose themselves. “Last time I saw you I had stabbed a sword through your chest.” 

“Hmph, really? That’s the last thing you remember?” Sasuke replied easily. 

“About you in particular.” The last few moments before Madara’s death remained hazy as it did for some of the others as well. He remembered the war, he remembered fighting the Shinobi alliance and fighting Sasuke then he remembered being betrayed by Zetsu and that’s what led to his death. 

“Whatever.” Sasuke grumbled. “Where are they?” 

“Not beating around the bush I see. Well, come on, they’re waiting.” Sasuke nodded and stepped across the threshold with Karin who exchanged a silent glance with Madara. 

The two of them led Sasuke down the foyer and around the corner to the living room where the other members of his family lay in wait. Itachi and his parents were standing at attention, eagerly awaiting him. Madara silently stood in the background and watched the exchange between them. Mikoto’s eyes landed on her youngest son and her hand went up to cover her mouth. The tears welled and ran down her cheeks. Never did she think the day would come that she would be able to again have her family back in its entirety. 

“Sasuke.” She managed to choke out. She barely recognized her sweet boy. He was so much taller now, his face no longer held the baby fat that she was so used to kissing and his eyes, his precious innocent eyes were so tired and dead like. Like he’s lived three lifetimes without a wink of sleep. 

“Mother...it’s been a while.” 

o.O.o

Karin sat idly by and watched Sasuke interact with his family. It was a strange turn of events. She didn’t really know what a reunion like this was supposed to look like, but it was an interesting sight. Mikoto sobbed, Shisui sobbed because Mikoto was sobbing. Sasuke, Fugaku, and Itachi were all silently emotional about the ordeal. Madara and Obito were seemingly grossed out and annoyed by the displays of affections. It was truly an Uchiha style event. 

“This feels so surreal.” Mikoto sniffled. 

“It does, I keep thinking that this is a dream and I’m going to wake up soon.” Sasuke stated as they settled into the couches.

“Well this isn’t a dream little brother, this is all real.” 

“It would be better with snacks though.” Obito shrugged from his position across the room. He then looked pointedly at Karin. 

“What?” She growled at him. She really didn’t like that one.

“As a legitimate Uchiha I would really hate to miss our little family reunion.” He said. The redhead rolled her eyes. She knew how amazing of a cook Obito was, but she didn’t feel like arguing with the dick about it. She shuffled her way into the kitchen to make very small snacks for the mighty clan while they chatted. She also wasn’t going to argue because she wasn’t stupid. They were well aware that she was still wearing her wristlet and she knew they wanted to have their own private discussions with Sasuke about any decisions he could be thinking of making. She didn’t fault them for acting on their own desires and because of that she would let them chat, she would let them plant whatever seeds they wanted, but at the end of the day she would make sure to get the last say. 

She looked in Mikoto’s fridge to see what things she had that she could use to make them snacks. She settled on making something geared towards Sasuke’s taste buds. Tomato mozzarella and basil leaves on toasted baguettes. He would appreciate the tomatoes. It only took her about 30 minutes to finish the foods and she carried them out on a tray. 

“Here.” She grumbled, setting the tray down on the table unceremoniously. 

“Thank you so much Karin, you didn’t have to.” Mikoto smiled. 

“It’s nothing really. Um, look I know you guys wanna get together with Sasuke and spend some quality family time with him so I’ll get out of your hair and Sasuke, I will pick you up whenever you’re ready.” 

“Oh, you’re more than welcome to stay if you would like.” The woman added. 

“Yeah I don’t think so. I have things to do anyways.” 

“I’ll call you when Sasuke decides he’s ready.” Itachi told her with a singular nod. “Do me a favor however, Kisame is sick, please make sure Dannie isn’t running around by herself?” 

“Yeah of course.” Karin nodded. She was certain Dannie was hanging out with one of their friends today, Itachi worried too much but she agreed anyways. She left soon after that and she made her way over to Dannie’s apartment. She always liked going there, it was so nice and the doorman was so kind. 

Dannie was home. In fact, she was currently trying to spoon feed Kisame some soup that she’d heated up in the microwave. The large blue man didn’t seem to be enjoying the soup. It probably wasn’t cooked all the way. She didn’t stay long, she didn’t want to distract the small brunette in her task to be a good caretaker but she texted Itachi a photo of the two of them to let him know how it was going. Then she went home herself. She found a note from Roegan on the counter saying that she was going out on a date and not to wait up for her. That harlot. She also found Gabe napping on her bed when she walked into her room. She smiled lightly at him and sighed. He looked so peaceful like that and she almost didn’t want to disturb him, but she definitely wanted to be close to him. 

She snuggled up against him under the covers as gently as possible. It almost didn’t matter, she knew she would wake him up anyways, but still, she tried. His arm came over her, pulling her into his cool body more. His blue orbs opened, as if he hadn’t been asleep at all. He kissed the tip of her nose gently and she smiled again. This is what being in love with someone who loved you back felt like. Always feeling happiness when you’re with someone you loved, feeling a tingly warmth all over every time they looked at you. 

“Welcome back.” He whispered groggily. 

“Thanks. I missed you.” She said truthfully. 

“You’ve only been gone a few hours silly.” 

“I know but...under the circumstances I just...I find myself missing you a lot more. Really easily.”

“Mm, I see. I take it things are going...iffy, with Sasuke?” He asked her then. She licked her lips as she thought about how to answer that question.

“It’s...not bad? I don’t know, it’s just kind of slow. He wants to spend time with me, after he speaks to his family that is.” She didn’t miss the hesitant shift in his eyes. Karin rested a hand of his stubbly cheek. “You know that I would... _ never ever _ cheat on you, with Sasuke right? With anybody? I love you, Gabe.”

“No, I know that, I know. I know that I pushed you to do this, but that doesn’t mean that it makes me anymore comfortable with it. I trust you babe.”

“But…?”

“You love him too. A lot more than you love me, maybe it’s just insecurity with myself, I want you to be happy, I want you to be at peace, I just don’t want you to leave me.”

“Oh, Gabe.” Karin breathed. She hugged her blue eyed lover tightly. She was never really the comforting type and so she didn’t know what to say to him. She never knew what to say to assure him that everything was okay, which is why she hoped he could just tell through her actions. She hoped he could feel how much she loved him and how much she meant it. She hoped he could feel how happy he made her and how content she was with their relationship. She was so grateful to have met him and she just wanted him to know that. So she laid there, holding him and pouring all her thoughts and emotions into that hug, every now and again placing a small kiss on his temple until she fell asleep. 

o.O.o

Sasuke sat on the couch in between his mother and his brother. He had been with them for a few hours now and the vast majority of their conversations had been about their new life in Saigon, Sasuke’s life in the Shinobi World and what all their lives could be life together in a mixed world. 

“We’ve put quite a bit of thought into this Sasuke,” Itachi had said, “our main priority is for you to be happy.” 

“With that being said, we still very much so want to be apart of your life.” His mother had continued. 

“I see,” he’d nodded. “And how do you propose we make this happen? Are you asking me to stay, here, in Saigon? You all certainly can’t return to the Leaf.” 

“We’re not asking you to do anything. The choice is yours, we’re just saying that you have options and whatever you decide to do we will be happy and we will support you the way a proper family should.” Fugaku said. 

“Hmph,” Sasuke chuckled dryly, “a proper family huh? Since when are we anything of the sort?” 

“We know that we weren’t the best in the past, but that’s in the past now. Look at this as a new beginning. Things are different now. Please Sasuke, consider it.” 

Sasuke leaned back, slouching into his spot. Hearing his mother plead for him was foreign and it felt strange. He hadn’t heard her voice in so long and hearing it like that now made him feel uneasy. He closed his eyes as he tried to wrap his head around everything. This is what he always wanted right? A family. His brother. He could stay here, they would all live close to each other, maybe erect a new compound if possible and he could have a second chance at living a relatively normal life. Karin, someone of great importance to him, would be by his side again. Like when they were younger. But then, there was Naruto. His boyfriend, someone he loved and cared about deeply. Part of him already felt bad enough for leaving without explaining anything to him, but he couldn’t have risked it. He couldn’t have risked going all the way to Konoha and telling him and Naruto wanting to fight about it. He would have missed his only opportunity. And now that he knew just exactly what he would have missed, part of him was even happier that he jumped. 

“Alright, so you’re all here. That’s great, but things have obviously changed,  _ I  _ have changed. What if...what if we aren’t able to become the family that you want us to be? What other reason would I have to stay? What even is there for me here?

“Oh cousin!” Shisui laughed. “There’s  _ a lot _ to do here! I have no doubt that you’ll find something to keep your interest, Sasuke. We all have something that keeps us tied to this world and it’s not just the military contracts we signed into either.” 

“Is that so? Like what?” 

“Well, I have group therapy every Thursday night! I used to just attend but now I lead the sessions and it’s targeted towards angsty teenagers who feel like like they’re reaching their limit.” Shisui smiled. 

“I remain in this world mainly because it’s the one place that Rin and I keep be together happily.” 

“I spent the entirety of my life searching for world peace and over here I don’t have to start a war to end wars. It’s just easier.” Madara decided. 

“I have an obligation to protect a young woman and I also enjoy the peace that this world has to offer.” Itachi told his brother. 

“I have several very good friends here and we’re always doing something new and exciting everyday.” Mikoto smiled.

“Like your mother, I have acquired a few good friends and I have stricken up a very healthy career in the police force here.” 

“Such modesty.” Sasuke mumbled. Those things were nice...for them. But Sasuke wanted something different. “It’s getting late.” Truthfully he didn’t know what time it was, but he knew he wanted to leave and Asako was probably getting lonely. He had practically forgotten about her once Karin came back, he realized it was rude. 

“Are you wanting to leave? I’ll contact Karin for you if that’s what you wish.” Itachi offered. 

“Please.” He nodded. After Itachi called Karin, she arrived rather quickly. He agreed to meet with his family again later and then he allowed the redhead to take him back to the halfway house. 

It turns out Asako was rather happy with Sasuke out of the house. She had taken to watching a show dubbed ‘Law & Order: SVU’ and she was becoming quite obsessed with it. Instead of bothering her, she suggested Sasuke go to his room and quietly stay there until she had binged enough episodes for the day. Karin would keep him company for a little. 

It was awkward. Karin didn’t sit very close to him and she didn’t look at him very much either. Instead, she sat on the chair in his room, braiding and re-braiding her hair. She would go from glancing at him quickly to turning her attention elsewhere when he looked back at her.They played this game for almost an hour in silence before she finally stood up and spoke to him.

“I have to leave. It’s getting late.”

“Karin...is that it?” He called after her as she started for the door. She paused and craned her neck to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “You’re leaving, just like that?”

“Well...yeah, I guess?” The redhead shrugged. Sasuke scoffed and roll his eyes at her.

“Well that’s just stupid. You do realize that I’m supposed to go back, right? If I get sent home and we’ve made absolutely no progress then everything I risked to come here was for nothing.” 

Karin turned around full now, blinking her sharp red eyes at him curiously. “Everything you risked? What did you leave behind, Sasuke?” 

“Suigetsu, Jugo.” He said. “I finally agreed to go back to the leaf and I brought them with me. It wasn’t the most favorable arrangement for some people so yeah, leaving them behind is kind of risky.” 

“I see. Go on.” She said.

“What?”

“You’re only telling half of the truth. There’s something, someone else you left in leaf. Naruto or...no, definitely not her. Visiting the leaf was already so much of a hassle, I can only imagine that if you’re living there it must be because someone very high up made that possible. A Hokage perhaps.” Karin explained. It was Sasuke’s turn to avert his gaze. He wasn’t sure if he should or if he was even supposed to tell her about his relationship with Naruto. He liked to keep his private life private, but Karin had always been a little different. A little more special than the others. She was always the one that he would confide when they were younger, he shared his tents with her, sometimes his sleeping bag. If he ever needed to be alone then she was always alone with him. Quietly though, because she didn’t want to disturb his thoughts, but by his side nonetheless. He would tell her, she deserved to know. 

“You know my relationship with Naruto has always been complicated.” He started. 

“I mean, yeah,” she shrugged with a slight frown on her face, “I guess it has been.”

“Hmph, well, it’s even more complicated now. We’re together….romantically.” When Karin didn’t respond Sasuke looked up at her. She didn’t look angry, but she didn’t look too happy either. Her passive expressions even had Sasuke stumped now and it was frustrating. 

“You’re fucking my cousin? Or, is he fucking you?” She blurted out then. Sasuke opened his mouth to respond to her, but Karin held up her hand. “On second thought, I don’t wanna know. I have to go, I get it though, you need to feel like this was more than worth it so tomorrow I’ll finally give you that tour of Saigon and then we’ll get you home to your boyfriend. Have a goodnight, Sasuke.” And before he could get out another word Karin was gone again. 


End file.
